Plume is turning home Wi-Fi into a subscription service
A Wi-Fi router startup is trying to shake up how we think about home Wi-Fi in a major way: by turning it into a subscription service.
The plan comes from Plume, one of several companies that have popped up over the past few years to capitalize on the growing popularity of mesh Wi-Fi systems that use multiple routers to provide better in-home coverage. Plume launched in late 2016 and has been selling its first router straight to consumers ever since. That changes today with two big announcements.
First, Plume is launching a more capable, tri-band router called the SuperPod. (Its normal router is called the Plume Pod.) It’s a bit bigger and a lot more expensive, and there isn’t much special about it on its own; most mesh systems offer both dual- and tri-band options at this point.