Hawking Technology Broadband Booster HBB1

Poor latency has become a serious issue, and not just for gamers. It's a concern for anyone who uses VoIP phone service, Web conferencing, or even simple Web-based e-mail. Hawking Technology hopes to reduce some of these quality issues with its Broadband Booster HBB1.

Most broadband users probably don't realize that, even if you pay extra for lightening-fast 5-Mbps service to your home or office, you're probably creeping along at about 256 Kbps, or maybe as high as 512 Kbps. Service rates are higher if you use a hotspot or line-of-site wireless connection, which might deliver a 1-Mbps upload speed. You'll notice latency, which affects the quality of service, as soon as you combine two upload-heavy functions.

If you use a VoIP connection from Vonage and your phone call suddenly gets garbled or there's a sharp voice delay, then someone else on your home network may have started uploading a file over FTP or a Doom 3 multiplayer gaming session. Hotmail and Yahoo e-mail tend to dominate all of the upload bandwidth as large messages travel up and down the broadband pipe.

At the heart of the HBB1 is Ubicom's StreamEngine algorithm, which manages all those upload streams and gives priority to the ones that obviously need to stay smooth. Connecting the HBB1 to your network is about as easy as it gets. First, after powering down your modem and router, you connect a cable from the modem to the HBB1, and another cable from the HBB1 to your router. That's it. We found that the HBB1 needed to sit idle for a short time as it figured out the connections. Once we powered on our cable modem and router, the device lit up. You can visit a Web page to make sure everything is connected properly.

The HBB1 weighs 5.1 ounces so that it stays flat on your desk. We think the product needs to be re-designed for laptop users because the sharp corners could easily leave a scratch on other gadgets in your bag when you travel.

In performance tests using Ixia Chariot and www.testyourvoip.com, the HBB1 managed the connection well. Latency, known as "packet loss" in benchmarking terms, almost completely disappeared on a Vonage VoIP account. We tested multiple FTP uploads, Xbox and PC online gaming, and even fired up all those activities plus a Web conferencing session simultaneously and noticed very little packet loss. The HBB1 certainly performs better than the Quality of Service features found on some routers, which do only an adequate job of making sure upload streams for VoIP and other critical data traffic flows smoothly.

As part of the testing process, we noticed that the HBB1 didn't necessarily solve or repair upload problems. That's an important distinction. If you are running at 256 Kbps for your upload speed, the HBB1 doesn't actually boost your connection. Dropouts that we've experienced using Vonage that occur when no one else was sharing our router continued, and a Webcam session that was jerky and unwatchable only improved slightly. Unfortunately, the only way to correct those problems is to upgrade your cable or DSL modem service.

Overall, the HBB1 performs its intended task, but may not solve persistent bottlenecks for those stuck in the upload slow lane.