Sprint’s pre-paid subsidiary Boost Mobile has just announced the launch of its new Wi-Fi hotspot plans, which would allow up to ten Wi-Fi enabled devices to be connected to the carrier’s LTE network via the recently launched Fuse Wi-Fi router from American network equipment maker Netgear. No-Contract plans from the carrier would cost $25 per month for 1.5 GB of LTE data and $50 per month for 10 GB of LTE data. Both plan charges would incur taxes and surcharges over and above the stated amounts. While the device will be available to buy on Boost Mobile’s website Friday, July 17th onwards, it is already available at Best Buy from today. According to the press release by Boost, the Netgear Fuse Router will also be made available at the carrier’s exclusive retail stores and “select independent wireless dealers nationwide” from next month.
Speaking on the occasion of the launch of Boost’s new Wi-Fi plans, Ms. Angela Rittgers, vice president-Marketing, Boost Mobile said, “In today’s highly connected world, Internet access shouldn’t be expensive or difficult to find. With the NETGEAR Fuse launch and our no-contract Wi-Fi Hotspot plans, Boost Mobile offers fast, secure Web surfing that doesn’t cost a fortune”. The company claims that the new plans will allow users to get more value for money, as they surf the internet with Sprint’s LTE service. According to the carrier, Sprint’s LTE network now covers more than 280 million people across the length and breadth of the country. As for the plan itself, one of the standard caveats maintain that video streaming will be restricted to 3G speeds irrespective of whether or not the data allowance has been breached.
As for the Netgear Fuse router itself, the device is said to be able to connect up to ten devices at a time, as mentioned already, and will work only on Sprint’s LTE and Enhanced LTE networks. The battery on the router is rated at 2,500 mAh, which will provide up to ten continuous hours of connectivity according to Netgear, and the plug-and-play nature of the device promises to aid its ease-of-use. The router is only slightly bulkier than a cell phone, which will allow it to be carried around in a pocket if need be, and it comes with a 1.77-inch LCD screen, which displays information like data usage, network connectivity and battery life. The device also comes with security and privacy features like password protection and the ability to block and unblock Wi-Fi devices, and the ability to create guest networks to allow one-time access to certain devices over a secure connection. A high resolution image of the Netgear Fuse Router can be seen below.
