Telstra unveils its first consumer-ready 5G modem

Alex Choros - Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor

Last updated 05 December 2018

Telstra unveils its first consumer-ready 5G modem

Telstra today unveiled what it expects to one of its first consumer-ready 5G devices: the HTC 5G Hub. The HTC 5G Hub is essentially a small-to-medium size mobile hotspot with a decent sized screen on front displaying signal strength, the number of connected devices, and connectivity info. We don't really know too much else about it yet.

Telstra demonstrated the HTC 5G Hub today in Sydney on its production network. The company says the tests mark the first time any commercial 5G device has been connected in Australia. While pricing and availability have yet to be confirmed, Telstra expects to start selling the HTC 5G Hub in 2019.

In addition, Telstra announced the Netgear Nighthawk M2 Mobile Router (a successor to the zippy Nighthawk N1), a portable hotspot able to achieve 2Gbps speeds on Telstra's 4G network. Customers will be able to get their hands on it in early 2019, but Telstra hasn't provided specifics around pricing and availability.

While most Telstra customers won't ever see real world 2Gbps speeds, the telco's 5G network upgrades mean that faster 4G will be available in more places around Australia. Telstra CEO Andy Penn said that the 200 base stations it's upgrading to 5G this year will also support peak 4G speeds of 2Gbps. Telstra's fastest 4G speeds have typically only been available in capital city CBDs.

Alex Choros

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Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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