Ubiquiti Labs unveils VPN-like AmpliFi Teleport to bypass location restrictions with Netflix, Hulu, and more
Ubiquiti Networks is a very respected company in the networking market. Its high-end hardware is used by many in the enterprise. Under its "Ubiquiti Labs" branding, however, the company recently entered the home consumer space with the "AmpliFi" mesh wireless router system. That product is exceptional -- my current recommended home router for anyone that will listen. It gets plenty of timely updates, looks beautiful, and offers both wonderful speed and coverage. Seriously, folks, it rocks.
Today, Ubiquiti Labs unveils its next home consumer product. Called "AmpliFi Teleport," it is a little box that promises to route your on-the-go internet traffic through your home router. The device plugs into the wall for power and connects to an access point using Wi-Fi or Ethernet. It creates an encrypted connection, making it operate sort of like a VPN, but that's not all. Your media services (Netflix, Hulu, MLB, etc.) will think you are at home when you aren't, so you can still access location restricted content. In other words, you won't get the dreaded message of "sorry, this is not available in your area," even if you are in a different state -- or country. It supplies access to the things connected to your home network too, such as smart devices that don't offer remote access.
"Now you can have all the places you call home connected to the same network with AmpliFi Teleport. Summer home in the Outer Banks? Parents’ house in Colorado? They can be covered by the same local network. Send commands to smart devices, control security and lighting systems, or even assist elderly parents with Wi-Fi setup – all without needing to set up cloud access. Teleport gives you the presence you need when you are not present," says Ubiquiti Labs.
But why does an established company need to leverage Kickstarter? Ubiquiti Labs explains, "Starting today, consumers can purchase The AmpliFi Teleport Kit (AmpliFi Router + Teleport) on Kickstarter for a limited-time early bird special pricing of $199 from Nov. 6 - Nov. 23. The campaign's $50,000 funding goal will support final production costs and will help to put the product in the hands of consumers more quickly. Consumers who purchase the product on Kickstarter will be shipped the product in December before the general public release."
It seems like the AmpliFi Teleport will be produced regardless of whether or not the Kickstarter goal is met, but the company is hoping to get some upfront cash to help with some of the costs. Fair enough. Since this is a respectable company, it should be a very safe backing. Heck, $50,000 is a rather meager goal too. In exchange for your pledge, you get early access to the product -- nice.
You can see an informative demo in the video above. It seems fairly easy to use and is configured using a web browser.
Unfortunately, the campaign only includes bundled kits, meaning the AmpliFi Router and Teleport are sold together in a single package. If you already own the router, you cannot buy the Teleport separately -- at least not during the Kickstarter campaign. This is disappointing, as existing owners are forced to either buy an additional router they do not need or wait until Teleport is sold individually down the road.
With all of that said, since the Teleport only works with the AmpliFi Router, this will prevent unknowing consumers from backing it and then becoming upset when it doesn't work with a different router model. So yeah, I can understand why this is being done.
Want to back the Ubiquiti Labs AmpliFi Teleport? You can do so here.