When your router/modem is "here" and you have one or more computers either upstairs or downstairs from that location -- or both! -- life begins to get complex. Hardwiring your network is fast and efficient, but it's often not a practical answer, especially for homes and small offices. Renters may have difficulty convincing their landlords to let them rewire a home or apartment that they don't own themselves. Even wiring your own place may not be fiscally feasible.

Most people who can't or won't hardwire for broadband have an obvious alternative: Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, there can be architectural anomalies between floors or even between rooms that can interfere with Wi-Fi signals, resulting in spotty, or even dead, signals. So what do you do?

Well, you can try using a power-line device.

Power-line networking uses existing electrical wiring to connect your computers and other devices to your network router. The technology behind it allows for multiple signals (and therefore several networked devices) to share the same wires that already exist in your walls without colliding with one another while they're communicating. Power-line networking began life at 14Mbit/sec. in 2001 and then bumped up to 100Mbit/sec. in 2005 when hardwire and Wi-Fi were still at 10/100Mbit/sec. and 57Mbit/sec., respectively. Power-line reached a claimed 200Mbit/sec. in 2007, which should be more than enough for our data and streaming-media needs. 

Now as we enter 2012, KMS offers power-line gigabit networking at up to 500Mbit/sec in up to 16 locations in your home or office! The fast and robust signals produced by these devices can be used to stream media on a network without bogging down the network for other users.  In addition, you can add a power-line wireless access point to give your wifi extended coverage.