AT&T debuts first 5G puck:
Netgear’s Nighthawk 5G Mobile Hotspot
dcolt@networktwentyoneinc.com November 6, 2018
Above: Netgear's Nighthawk 5G Mobile Hotspot Image Credit: AT&T / Netgear
AT&T has promised to launch its mobile 5G network with mobile hotspot "pucks" in November, and now we know exactly what device it will be selling: Netgear’s Nighthawk 5G Mobile Hotspot. But it’s not exactly what people expected when the company used the word “puck.” The good news: The Nighthawk Mobile Hotspot is a real thing, and it was successfully tested by AT&T on one of the Ericsson-built 5G millimeter wave small cell towers AT&T’s been building out. As expected, it’s using Qualcomm's Snapdragon X50 modem and is fully standards-compliant — not running off pre-standards 5G, like Verizon’s current network. This in fact means it should be able to keep on working with future 5G towers, as well.
Unfortunately it is pretty big for a hotspot. There’s a color screen surrounded by a black bezel and a plastic frame that doesn’t look particularly thin. So while you’ll be getting “mobile 5G” and the ability to share a high-speed data connection with multiple devices, it looks to be closer to a “tablet” than a “puck”. This tells me that manufacturers are still finding it difficult to shrink 5G devices to 4G device sizes, although some recent antenna developments could help devices do better for 2019.
Pricing has yet to be set for the Mobile 5G Hotspot but it is expected to be out in stores this month.
Twelve cities are scheduled to get AT&T’s mobile 5G service in 2018, with an additional seven following in early 2019 an aggressive schedule we'll be watching to see if it comes to fruition.
AT&T has promised to launch its mobile 5G network with mobile hotspot "pucks" in November, and now we know exactly what device it will be selling: Netgear’s Nighthawk 5G Mobile Hotspot. But it’s not exactly what people expected when the company used the word “puck.” The good news: The Nighthawk Mobile Hotspot is a real thing, and it was successfully tested by AT&T on one of the Ericsson-built 5G millimeter wave small cell towers AT&T’s been building out. As expected, it’s using Qualcomm's Snapdragon X50 modem and is fully standards-compliant — not running off pre-standards 5G, like Verizon’s current network. This in fact means it should be able to keep on working with future 5G towers, as well.
Unfortunately it is pretty big for a hotspot. There’s a color screen surrounded by a black bezel and a plastic frame that doesn’t look particularly thin. So while you’ll be getting “mobile 5G” and the ability to share a high-speed data connection with multiple devices, it looks to be closer to a “tablet” than a “puck”. This tells me that manufacturers are still finding it difficult to shrink 5G devices to 4G device sizes, although some recent antenna developments could help devices do better for 2019.
Pricing has yet to be set for the Mobile 5G Hotspot but it is expected to be out in stores this month.
Twelve cities are scheduled to get AT&T’s mobile 5G service in 2018, with an additional seven following in early 2019 an aggressive schedule we'll be watching to see if it comes to fruition.
