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Peplink’s New 2026 Lineup: MAX Orbit Series, Balance 310 5G, and a First Look at the PowerFusion Rack
Jul
Peplink’s 2026 lineup has a clear theme: get the radios off the router. In this walkthrough, Peter covers the three MAX Orbit routers, the Balance 310 5G branch router, and a device that isn’t even released yet — the PowerFusion Rack, a 2,300W PoE switch built to power Starlink terminals and 5G gateways directly.
max PoE budget from three swappable power supplies in one rack switch
The PowerFusion Rack powers Starlink Performance Gen 3 terminals and BR2 Pro 5G routers straight from the switch port — no external power supplies, no injectors.
Why Pull 5G Out of the Router?
Every recent Peplink router has shipped with embedded 5G — the Balance 310 5G, MAX BR1 Pro 5G, Transit 5G, HD4 MBX 5G. That means antennas on the roof and 6- to 15-foot antenna cable runs to the rack, the vehicle roof, or the side of the building — and every foot of coax costs you RF signal.
The MAX Orbit series flips the model. The radio — a Starlink terminal, a OneWeb terminal, or an external 5G gateway like the BR2 Pro 5G — lives outside where the signal is, and connects back to the Orbit over Ethernet. No long coax runs. The router bonds everything with SpeedFusion.
MAX Orbit 2, 4, and 8 — The Quick Version
Full breakdown, comparison table, and buying guide in our MAX Orbit Series launch post.
| Model | Think of It As | Orbit (WAN) Ports | Throughput / SpeedFusion |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAX Orbit 2 | A BR1 Pro 5G with the 5G removed | 1× 2.5G + 1× 1G | 1 Gbps / 400 Mbps (200 Mbps AES) |
| MAX Orbit 4 | A BR2 Pro footprint, no cellular | 4× 1G + USB | 1 Gbps / 400 Mbps (200 Mbps AES) |
| MAX Orbit 8 | 4 Gbps router, 8 bonded terminals, under $3,000 | 8× 2.5G PoE+ out + 2× USB-C | 4 Gbps / 1 Gbps (1 Gbps AES) |
Mix and match on the Orbit 8: four Starlinks, two OneWebs, and two BR2 Pro 5Gs — bonded into one connection.
All three models carry 8GB eMMC storage for Docker edge compute, GPS, and Wi-Fi 6 (Wi-Fi 7 on the Orbit 8). One planning note: the Orbit (WAN) ports are fixed — they can’t be reconfigured as LAN ports. Peter’s pick for a 2026 best-seller: the Orbit 8.
Balance 310 5G: The Orbit 8 With 5G Built In
Peter’s shorthand: the Balance 310 5G is “basically the same device” as the Orbit 8, with embedded 5G. Eight 2.5G PoE+ ports for access points, phones, and cameras (or VLAN-as-WAN for external terminals), two 10G interfaces, Wi-Fi 7, 8GB Docker storage, 4 Gbps stateful throughput, and 1 Gbps SpeedFusion. Run two side by side for HA at the branch.
Full details in our Balance 310 5G launch post.
First Look: PowerFusion Rack — A PoE Switch Built for Starlink
The reveal of the video. The PowerFusion Rack is not a regular switch — it’s a PoE switch with up to three swappable power supplies and a 2,300W max PoE budget, designed to power satellite terminals and cellular gateways directly. Not yet released — specs below are from the walkthrough and subject to change.
Pre-Release Specs — From the Walkthrough
- 12× 2.5G PoE++ (802.3bt, 90W) ports — enough to power a dozen BR2 Pro 5G routers from one switch
- 4× 1G Starlink ports (FHP PoE, 400W) — plug Starlink Performance Gen 3 terminals straight in, no external power supply
- 2× 10G/2.5G Pep-PoE ports (200W) — an easter egg for now, built to power next-generation Peplink devices that draw more than the 90W of standard 802.3bt Type 4 PoE
- 2× SFP+ uplinks (1/10G)
- Up to 3× swappable AC/DC power supplies — 2,330W max PoE budget
Multi-Starlink Campus or Vessel
PowerFusion Rack feeding a Balance 5000 over 10G, with VLAN-as-WAN handling up to four Starlink Gen 3 terminals — power and management on one switch, no injectors, no extra management VLAN gymnastics.
Rooftop 5G Array
Twelve BR2 Pro 5G routers on the roof of your building, each powered over PoE++ with a 2.5G uplink — every radio outside where the signal is, every port on one switch.
Rugged Enough for the Field, Quiet Enough for the Office
The whole line is built ruggedized: vibration-tolerant, wide temperature range. At the Peplink summit, integrators reported units running rock solid at 140°F ambient. Hardware built for that environment is hardware you don’t think about in a climate-controlled rack.
Also coming across the line: SpeedFusion Score in InControl 2.4.4 [VERIFY SPEC — version], which grades the live health of your SpeedFusion network — latency, jitter, and packet delivery — on every link. We’ll cover it in a dedicated video.
FAQ
What new Peplink products launched in 2026?
The MAX Orbit 2, 4, and 8 multi-orbit satellite routers, the Balance 310 5G branch router, and the upcoming PowerFusion Rack PoE switch.
What is the Peplink PowerFusion Rack?
A pre-release PoE switch with up to three swappable power supplies (2,300W max PoE budget), 2.5G PoE++ ports, 400W Starlink ports, and 200W Pep-PoE ports, designed to directly power Starlink Performance Gen 3 terminals and Peplink 5G gateways.
When is the PowerFusion Rack available?
It has not been released yet. Contact us to be notified when it ships.
Can I power Starlink directly from a Peplink switch?
That’s the PowerFusion Rack’s headline feature: dedicated 400W Starlink ports power Starlink Performance Gen 3 terminals with no external power supply, and VLAN-as-WAN carries each terminal to your router.
Shop the Lineup
Build Your 2026 Network
MAX Orbit and Balance 310 5G are shipping now. Want first notice on the PowerFusion Rack — or help speccing a multi-Starlink deployment?
Or contact our team to spec the right build for your deployment.
