Everything you need to know about our new 5G router

If you’re like me, there’s nothing like getting your hands on a shiny new piece of tech. And our new 5G router is one of the freshest devices in the industry—exciting times!

Now that the 5G router is now available to all our partners, it’s a good time to take a close look at its specs and answer some questions we’ve had about the device so far.

But first, in case you were curious:

In January 2021, Ofcom will auction off another set of primary 5G spectrum to MNOs. 5G networks are cropping up all across the UK, and their massive speeds, lower latency, and high reliability has unlocked plenty of new business opportunities. And with tech titans like Samsung revealing their 5G phones and Intel building 5G laptops, devices are hitting the market fast.

In other words: the 5G hype is coming to fruition. Which means if you’re a Channel partner with your finger on the pulse, it’s the perfect time to gear up with the right equipment to run 5G solutions.

Our new router connects to 5G networks through its embedded 5G modem. Its baseband signal processor is the key to what differentiates it from 4G devices; the pilot signalling between a base station and the router decides whether the router can connect to 5G networks or defaults to 4G networks.

4G-LTE routers contain an LTE chipset that falls under different chipset categories, like Cat 6, Cat 12, or Cat 18. But 5G categories haven’t been defined yet, as the tech behind 5G is so new to the market.

We tested the router on various networks around London, and with 5G connectivity its speed averaged at 270Mbps. Testing the 4G networks in the same location resulted in speeds averaging at 67 Mbps; so enabling 5G gave us 4.5x the speed we’re used to on 4G.

The 5G router has two modes: 5G-only, which locks the router to the strongest 5G networks it can detect and ignores other networks; and 5G-preferred, where the router automatically switches to 5G wherever available but otherwise connects to LTE, similar to how unsteered Multi-network SIMs prefer the top 4G networks.

5G-preferred is typically the best option, as it effectively gives you 4G backup if there’s an outage, or if your solution is mobile and moves away from a 5G network. Acronyms incoming: the router supports multi-carrier 2G and 3G, 4G FDD LTE, TDD LTE, and LTE advanced. And in terms of Wi-Fi, it allows Dual-band or Tri-band dual concurrent Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac), with both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.

Check ‘em out:

6 external antennas, which boosts its indoor connectivity and also supports mobility.

A ruggedised body, making it a perfect fit for outdoor mobile connectivity, whether out in nature or on the streets.

Optional static IPs, for businesses who want to compliment their fixed-line connectivity with ultrafast mobile broadband.

Dual SIM connectivity with failover, providing you with continuous and seamless connectivity.

A dual-core CPU for fast processing and easy configuration.

Set up is a piece of cake. Just insert a 5G-enabled SIM into the router, boot it up, wait for it to indicate that it’s connected, and plug in an Ethernet cable to access it for simple configuration settings. We can even have it all done for you before we send it over.

Yes! If you’re one of our partners, our 5G router is your 5G router.

Drop us a line if you’re ready to get your hands on a 5G router of your own. Or if you’re curious to see what kind of benefits and opportunities 5G will unlock for you, check out our Sales Director’s latest blog post!