SFR has just lifted the veil on the Box 8X, a new high-end Internet box. Presented as the “most powerful box on the market”, it tackles the Freebox Delta from Free head-on. Wi-Fi 6, 8 Gbit/s…We take stock of the characteristics of the new red-squared operator proposal.
This Tuesday, February 8, 2020, SFR presented the Box 8X, an evolution of the Box 8 announced in summer 2019. The box offers an improved experience compared to the previous generation. Like its predecessor, the box is compatible with Wi-Fi 6, one of the latest wireless connection standards. We regret the absence of Wi-Fi 6E, the latest version of the standard, which should be present on the future Livebox 6 from Orange.
On the design side, it takes the look of the previous model to the letter. Produced by Altice Labs, the SFR box rather puts focus on connection speed offered to subscribers “to meet the new needs of households (teleworking, gaming, transfer of large files, streaming, etc.)“.
SFR improves its Box 8 with higher speeds
Mirroring the Freebox Delta from Free, the SFR Box 8X offers a downstream speed of 8 Gb/s. However, the theoretical downlink rate is 10 Gb/s. These are the only two boxes on the French market to be able to offer such high speeds. The advertised upload speed is 1 Gb/s, compared to 700 Mb/s for the Freebox Delta.
SFR guarantees these speeds on each device connected to the router. On the generation launched in 2019, the operator announced a maximum download speed of 2 Gb / s and an upload speed of 400 Mb / s.
Thanks to technology XGS-PON fiber, “Box 8 in this new version becomes the most efficient by offering a connection 4 times faster than the previous generation”. As a reminder, SFR began testing XGS-PON fiber in 2018. This is a new standard that allows speeds to be increased on existing FTTH networks.
SFR has also improved the connection of the box. It includes 4 Ethernet ports, compared to two on the previous model, and a 5th high-speed Ethernet port to take advantage of the high throughput offered by fiber optics. Telecom also provides free SFP module (10 Gbit/s compatible) on demand.
Otherwise, the offer is identical to the previous generation. The decoder is 4K HDR compatible with Dolby Vision and embeds an integrated connected speaker Dolby Atmos compatible. There are two voice assistants: Amazon Alexa or “OK SFR”.
On the same theme: SFR tries again to increase the price of its fixed Internet offer
A price of 34 euros / month for 12 months
The SFR Box 8X is available to all eligible customers now. Unsurprisingly, an eligibility test is available on the operator’s website. It is only accessible in the most expensive offer of SFR, Fiber Power 8. This plan with a one-year commitment costs 34 euros per month for 12 months. Once this period has passed, SFR charges the subscription 50 euros. Also count 49 euros in fees for new customers of the operator.
