In July last year, Florida-based Skyboxe announced to launch a first-of-its-kind device in Q1 2020. As per the official website, the company pushed the launch into the fall of 2020 without mentioning any reason. Nevertheless, the Skyboxe Hub 4G is now certified by the FCC for the US launch.
The Skyboxe Hub 4G is an all-in-one device combing the Android TV box and Wi-Fi Router. Instead of using broadband via an internet service provider, the device offers internet connectivity with a 4G LTE connection. By the time of its official launch, Skyboxe will partner with one of the biggest carriers in the US.
All-in-one Skyboxe Hub 4G to launch in fall 2020
As of now, there is no mention of the exact launch date. Instead of just selling hardware, the company will be offering Skyboxe Hub 4G and its service as a package. Apart from an internet connection, the company will also provide local digital TV channels with over-the-air antenna technology. Additionally, these local channels can be watched for free.
Furthermore, it comes loaded with Android TV OS for accessing all the smart TV features like streaming Netflix and Prime Video. The company says this new device is designed for cord-cutters and remote workers. With the FCC certification, Skyboxe will start testing it with the carrier partners. The data service plan pricing will be announced at a later date
While the current-gen Skyboxe Hub comes with 4G LTE support, the company also mentioned bringing an upgraded version with 5G support in the future. As of now, we don’t know how the company could pull all features with just an LTE connection. Moreover, 4G internet plans are also costlier than broadband plans.
The company also plans to launch a 5G TV box in the future
As per the Opensignal’s Mobile Network Experience Report January 2020, AT&T had the fastest LTE download speed of 29.1 Mbps among the four big US carriers. In comparison, the average download speed of fixed broadband connections is around 135 Mbps, according to Speedtest.net.
While the LTE connection is good enough for basic tasks, it won’t be able to offer the same experience as a broadband connection for streaming 4K content or playing multiplayer games. However, this could change when 4G will eventually get replaced by 5G.
Currently, the average 5G download speed in the US is just 50.9 Mbps. With 5G gradually becoming widespread, there should also be improvements in the 5G speeds.