Pick the Right Router the First Time

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TEC342: The internet coming into your house is only as good as the router distributing it. If your Wi-Fi is flaky, your ISP probably isn’t the problem — your router is.

Dom Bettinelli is joined by Joanne Mercier and Leo Devick to walk through everything you need to know before buying a home router.

The conversation starts with the questions that actually matter: How big is your home? What’s it made of? How many devices do you have? How do you use the internet? These factors drive the decision more than any spec sheet. A router’s advertised coverage assumes ideal conditions — rice-paper walls and open air. Reality is considerably less forgiving.

From there, the panel breaks down the key choice: single router vs. mesh system. Mesh isn’t a speed upgrade — it’s a coverage solution. Each node in a mesh network is its own router, passing the signal hop by hop, which introduces slight overhead. The far end of your mesh will run a bit slower than the node connected to the modem. That’s fine if you have dead zones; it’s overkill if you don’t.

On Wi-Fi standards: Wi-Fi 5 is outdated and not worth buying. Wi-Fi 6 is the current sweet spot — more efficient, smarter at managing multiple devices and traffic types, and reasonably priced. Wi-Fi 6E adds a 6 GHz band for future-proofing, but most devices don’t support it yet. Wi-Fi 7 exists, but it’s for early adopters willing to pay significantly more.

The discussion covers pricing tiers (budget $50–$100, mid-range $100–$250, premium mesh $250–$400+), specific model picks across those categories, the importance of router placement, and why the router that came with your cable modem is usually the weakest link in your network.

In the headlines: a look at AI-based spiritual chatbots — including a $1.99 “AI Jesus” modeled on Jonathan Roumie of The Chosen — and why the panel finds the business model deeply cynical. Then, the FCC’s ban on unapproved new router models, driven by national security concerns over Chinese manufacturing — and Netgear’s approval as the first company to demonstrate its supply chain runs through non-Chinese factories. Finally, the Diocese of Bridgeport’s AI virtual fundraiser, “Maria,” and whether deploying a bot as a donor’s first point of human-style contact is compatible with the Church’s incarnational mission.

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Disclaimer: Hosts, panelists, and guests may have a financial interest in the companies discussed through investments or other means. Their opinions and recommendations are not affected and do not present a conflict of interest. We offer this statement in the interest of full disclosure.

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