Today, Inseego announced that it had worked with Verizon to create the industry’s first gigabit LTE mobile hotspot, the Verizon Jetpack MiFi 8800L. Now this is a gigabit LTE mobile hotspot and not a 5G hotspot – which is what Verizon announced with NETGEAR last week. The difference here is that this is still running on Verizon’s LTE network, meaning that it works on its existing network and not its 5G network that is only available in a handful of markets right now. The mobile hotspot is a Cat 18, for LTE Advanced, that is going to provide some of the fastest speeds in the world. With Gigabit LTE speed, you’re going to get up to 15 times faster speeds than average 4G speeds. Verizon is using two, three and four channel carrier aggregation, Licensed Assisted Access (LAA) and 4×4 MIMO to provide a wider pipe that is going to provide more bandwidth at up to 1Gbps.
This hotspot also features Ultimate Enterprise-Grade security, so that whether you are a consumer, a mobile professional or an enterprise customer, you can use the new Jetpack MiFi 8800L without any issues. This platform was built with security features that are going to well beyond the industry standards and IT admin controls are also available. This is great for companies that are going to buy these hotspots for their employees to use while they are out on the field. Verizon also has an on-board VPN, so that you can keep your data safe. The Jetpack MiFi 8800L is also going to last all-day long, and it has a Quick Charge feature that can charge it up pretty quickly. It will last a full 24 hours on a single charge which is really rather impressive. Finally, coming around to the looks of the Jetpack MiFi 8800L, it has a 2.4-inch color touchscreen. This touchscreen isn’t here for using apps and browsing Twitter. But instead, it is used to manage your passwords, settings, check data usage and providing information about your connection. This way you can quickly see how much data you’ve used and how close you are to your cap, and if you are even connected to Verizon’s network.
Background: Gigabit LTE is widely said to be the backbone and a stepping-stone for 5G. Gigabit LTE is a step above standard LTE, since it is using LTE Advanced, but it is not quite 5G. All four of the major US carriers have Gigabit LTE in most markets right now, and that is because it is going to be a backbone to 5G. Much like 3G and HSPA+ was the backbone to 4G LTE for quite a while. That way when you get bumped off of 5G or are in an area that doesn’t have 5G, you aren’t losing a ton of speed, since Gigabit LTE is still pretty fast. It is a little surprising that this is the world’s first Gigabit LTE mobile hotspot though, seeing as carriers started rolling out Gigabit LTE over a year ago. However, many customers don’t actually buy hotspots anymore, since our phone has that functionality built right in nowadays.
Those that may be wondering what exactly Gigabit LTE actually is, well it’s a wireless technology based on 4G LTE. It is essentially taking a ton of different technologies that carriers are already using them, and combining them. This allows for what is essentially a wider pipe. This wider pipe gives connections more room to use the network. So instead of being limited at around 30Mbps, you will get much faster speeds, closer to around 1Gbps. Not only does this mean faster speeds, in peak situations, but it also means faster speeds when the network is bogged down with a ton of other connections. And in today’s world, that is a pretty big deal. That is because there are a ton of connections everywhere, not just smartphones, but tablets, wearables, smart home products like security cameras and much more. It is a step towards 5G, and it is actually going to become a much more widely used network than 5G, for now. Combining 4×4 MIMO, carrier aggregation and more, carriers are able to drastically increase their bandwidth without having to use more spectrum, which is definitely important here.
Impact: Most newer smartphones do have support for Cat 18 LTE Advanced, so as long as Verizon has it up in your area, then you should already be experiencing Gigabit LTE. Though you may not notice a huge different right now, seeing as every smartphone made in the past year supports it. And since Verizon is already a pretty large carrier, there are a ton of other smartphones connected, draining that bandwidth. But if you don’t have a newer device, then the Jetpack MiFi 8800L is going to be a good option to be able to take advantage of Verizon’s new faster speeds.
The Verizon Jetpack MiFi 8800L is now available for customers to order online, nationwide. It’ll cost you $99 with a two-year contract or $199 outright. If you are planning to stick with Verizon for two years, then the contract price is going to be a better option, as you’ll save $100 there, and you won’t get charged more on your monthly bill by going contract versus contract-free. Which is important to note, since most devices these days are on equipment installment plans and not the contracts that we used to live on about five years ago. There is going to be a $30 activation fee here, and Verizon has three options for the plan. You can get data only for $60 per month which includes 10GB of LTE speeds and then throttled afterwards. You can get 1GB of data for $15 per month and that also includes talk and text. Or you can get unlimited for $80 per month. That include 15GB of LTE data with talk and text and then 15GB of of mobile hotspot (which seems kind of odd since this is a mobile hotspot). You can pick up the Verizon Jetpack MiFi 8800L from Verizon’s website using the link below.
Buy the Verizon Jetpack MiFi 8800L