Credit: Telstra
Telstra are pitching their latest portable hotspot as a future-proof avenue for mobile connectivity.
Priced at $599 (alternatively $24.95 over 24-months), the Telstra 5G Wi-Fi Pro features a 2.4 inch colour touch screen, a 4500mAh battery, 5G, 4G and Wi-Fi 6 connectivity. Powered by a Snapdragon SDX55 chipset, Telstra say the hotspot can support up to 30 devices at a time.
The big difference between this and something like the HTC 5G Hub is that the Telstra 5G Wi-Fi Pro is the telco's first 5G hotspot with millimetre-wave (mmWave) connectivity.
Telstra customers who order the device will also net themselves up to 100,000 Telstra points.
Telstra’s Product and Service Design Executive Andrew Stormont says that “mmWave is going to be a big part of our 5G future and with the Telstra 5G Wi-Fi Pro we are offering customers a device that will be able to take advantage of the next iteration of 5G as soon as it arrives.”
The drawback to this futureproofing is that those who buy in now won't really be able to make use of that next-generation connectivity for some time.
In Australia, mmWave spectrum isn't expected to go to auction until 2021 - so you won't be able to make use of the Telstra 5G Wi-Fi Pro's capabilities in the meantime unless you're located within one of Telstra's three testing sites.
The Telstra 5G Wi-Fi Pro portable hotspot is available from this week through Telstra.
