It could be argued that as a nation, we’re addicted to Wi-Fi. The entire concept of wireless networking has found actual penetration into our society and culture, our homes, our mobile devices, it’s almost ubiquitous. Just saying that, I still recall noticing a sign outside my local McDonald’s telling me that I could access their Wi-Fi while in the drive through. Cisco and Linksys have seen this demand and want to ride the next wave into the market.

PCWorld is running an article right now about the new expansion of Cisco’s already popular E-series 802.11n routers,

Depending on the configuration, the products range in price from $60 for a bare-bones 2.4GHz model with a 2 x 2 antenna array (the minimum required for Wi-Fi Alliance 802.11n certification) and 4 10/100 ethernet ports, to $180 for the model with simultaneous dual-band support, 2×3 antennas for 2.4GHz operations and 3×3 antennas for 5GHz, and 4 gigabit Ethernet ports.

The more antennas, the faster the potential speed of the network: Cisco pegs the speed potential for the 2×2 router at up to 300 megabits per second, compared to 450 mbps for the 5GHz network on the high-end E4200, which has a 3 x 3 antenna array.

As more households get Wi-Fi routers, the greater the amount of noise that we’ll have to cut through. Know what the vacuum cleaner and microwave used to do to old CRT TVs? Imagine that going on with your wireless signal. As a result, Cisco’s line will provide a great deal of robustness to homes looking for stronger, cleaner signals in order to play streaming video over.

“With more than 70 million routers sold, Linksys brings a decade of leadership and innovation to create products that consumers trust for the best wireless quality, performance and experience,” said Simon Fleming-Wood, vice president of marketing, Cisco Consumer Products. “Our new Linksys line offers an array of solutions for the needs of today’s home networking consumer and is optimized for premium video experiences such as those available through Netflix, Hulu, and iTunes.”

This matches with Cisco’s understanding of the market and a push deeper into video telecommunications—bigger and badder end-consumer boxes capable of streaming that video will only boost the total market they can sell to. Further, the fact that some of their products are geared towards the industry as well displays how they also want to penetrate the corporate side with the same array of products. All part of Cisco’s current strategy for covering a multitude of networking solutions.

Dual-band routers basically let you simultaneously use two Wi-Fi networks, each one operating on different areas of the wireless spectrum. A 2.4GHz network (the only band on the less expensive models) will support legacy 802.11b and 802.11g devices, while the 5GHz band supports 802.11a gear–and also has a larger number of non-overlapping channels, which makes it less subject to interference and therefore a better fit for streaming media, or any high-bandwidth operations in an area where lots of 2.4GHz networks are present (cities, for example.)

Priced to move with the bare-bones router running only $60, Cisco and Linksys are primed to move into the living room—combine that with the strong radios and dual-band technology, they’ll be difficult to oust once they’re there. As less than half of US homes currently use wireless routers, Cisco hopes to make inroads by getting into the residential market now and reap the rewards of having a strong brand in the market, Linksys, soak up further market as more households switch up.

According to industry research group IDC, only 39% of US homes have wireless, while only 11% are using Wireless-N technology. Over the next five years Wireless-N adoption is expected to nearly double due to the growth of wireless connected devices such as tablets, smartphones, and Internet-enabled TVs that require the latest wireless technology for optimal performance.

Of course, in case you missed it, the FCC is currently partnered with Samknows to give away free Wireless-N routers in the US; but it’s hard to beat low-priced hardware from industry leaders.