Having a mobile hotspot device isn’t always a necessity as your home or office may have WiFi or your smartphone can be used as a hotspot when needed. But if you need something as a backup for when your WiFi goes out or if you’re on the go and you need something a bit more stable than your phone, then it becomes something useful. AT&T is now launching a new 5G powered device called the Netgear Nighthawk 5G Mobile Hotspot Pro that can be your source of connection when WiFi and data fail you.
The mobile hotspot is compatible with AT&T’s sub-6 GHz 5G and if you’re in an area where their “5G+” or the faster millimeter wave service. They currently have “parts of 35 cities” supported by this 5G+ but if you’re not part of that, then you will just be able to receive standard 5G. And if it’s the same as their current 5G service, then you may even be getting something like 4G LTE speeds.
In any case, fingers crossed that you actually get 5G, the hotspot runs on Snapdragon X55 modem and has support for WiFi 6 for client devices. You can connect up to 32 devices at once but of course you will all be sharing the same data connection so the more devices that use it, the slower Internet speeds will become. The device has a 5.040 battery so you can still use it while mobile. But if your’e just staying indoors, then keep it plugged in.
The device itself has a touchscreen on the top panel so you will be able to monitor and control some parts of it like Wifi SSID, password, battery strength, signal strength, what kind of WiFi you’re getting, etc. You will also be able to see which devices are connected to your mobile hotspot and create a second network for temporary use for guests.
The Netgear Nighthawk 5G will be available in the market starting September 18. You can pay for it outright at $509.99 but you can also pay for it at $17 per month for 30 months with the AT&T installment plan.