Month: February 2018

Alcatel Presents Two New Hotspots: Linkzone Cat7 and Cat12

TCL Communication presented two new Alcatel Linkzone LTE hotspots at the MWC in Barcelona. The Linkzone Cat7 Hotspot can achieve speeds of up to 300 MBit/s in the download and up to 100 MBit/s in the upload, while the other one Linkzone Cat12 Router can reach up to 600 MBit/s in the download and up to 100 MBit/s in the upload. However, both the two LTE hotspots don’t have a display, so the operation takes place either via app or browser web interface.

Alcatel Linkzone Cat12

The Alcatel Linkzone Cat12 LTE Hotspot comes in a black case with a 4,300 mAh battery. According to the manufacturer, the operating time is about 15 hours; LEDs on the front indicate the operating status. If required, the device can also be used to charge other devices (power bank function).

 

The antennas for mobile radio and for WLAN are firmly integrated in the housing, but the connections for 4G external antennas do not exist. Even a MicroSD memory card slot is not integrated with the Alcatel Linkzone Cat12, which feature was often found at mobile hotspots. The WLAN module of the Linkzone Cat12 works according to the standards 802.11a/b/g/n/ac and allows up to 32 users at the same time. On request, two WLAN names can be sent in parallel. The wireless speed is at a maximum of 867 MBit/s according to the manufacturer. And the Alcatel Linkzone Cat12 LTE Hotspot will be available “later in 2018”.

 

 

Alcatel Linkzone Cat7

The Alcatel Linkzone Cat7 LTE Hotspot is the small sister model to the Linkzone Cat12. And the Linkzone Cat7 is much cheaper based on weaker specifications. The battery has capacity of 2150 mAh, which is significantly lower than the linkzone Cat12. The battery life is advertised with up to 8 hours.

Regarding the WLAN, there is no difference to the more expensive Cat12 model: the wireless module operates on the standards 802.11a/b/g/n/ac at 2.4 and 5 gigahertz and allows up to 32 users at the same time. On request, two WLAN names can be sent in parallel. The WLAN speed is a maximum of 867 MBit/s.

 

Both hotspots with LTE band 32

It is pleasing that both Alcatel hotspots support all the frequency ranges that are currently important for Europe, including Band 1, 3, 7, 8 and 20 as well as Band 32 (1500 MHz). The 1500 MHz band will be used as Supplemental Downlink (SDL) in the future at Vodafone and Telekom to enable faster downlink speeds.

 

Huawei Launch World’s First 5G Chipset and 5G CPE

Huawei launched the world’s first 5G Chipset and first 5G CPE at MWC 2018 in Barcelona yesterday. According to Huawei official sayings, the 5G chipset model is Balong 5G01, which makes Huawei the first company offering an end-to-end 5G solution through its network, devices, and chipset-level capabilities.

As the world’s first commercial terminal device, Huawei 5G Router supports 3GPP 5G Standards with Huawei developed 5G chipset Balong 5G01, which it labeled as being the world’s first commercial 3GPP 5G chipset supporting download speeds of up to 2.3Gbps across sub-6GHz and millimeter-wave (mmWave) spectrum bands. The 5G CPE comes in a sub-6GHz model and an mmWave model, Huawei announced. This device marks a milestone as Huawei sets the stage for the next generation of wireless connectivity.

 

The HUAWEI 5G CPE has two models, low frequency (sub6GHz) 5G CPE and high frequency (mmWave) 5G CPE respectively. The HUAWEI low frequency 5G CPE is small and lightweight, compatible with 4G and 5G networks, and has proven measured download speeds of up to 2Gbps – 20 times that of 100Mbps fiber. This provides an ultra-fast experience, allowing users to enjoy VR video and gaming experiences, or download a TV show within a second. The HUAWEI high frequency 5G CPE is available in indoor and outdoor units.

“mmWave technology will be an important tool in ensuring widespread deployment of 5G technology in Canada. Huawei’s 5G solutions and terminals will enable 5G coverage over a neighbourhood or small community cost effectively, while providing more convenient and high-speed home broadband Internet access services.” said Dr. Wen Tong, Huawei Fellow, and CTO Huawei Wireless, “This friendly user trial will drive the global 3GPP unified 5G standard and build a solid foundation for the 5G early commercialization.”

 

“5G technology will underpin the next leap forward for our intelligent world, where people, vehicles, homes and devices are fully connected, delivering new experiences, insights and capabilities,” said Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group. “Since 2009, Huawei has invested US$600 million in research and development into 5G technologies, where we have led the way with innovations around network architecture, spectrum usage, field verification and more. From connected vehicles and smart homes to AR/VR and hologram videos, we are committed to developing a mature 5G ecosystem so that consumers can benefit from a truly connected world that transforms the way we communicate and share.”

Huawei E5788 Gigabit LTE Hotspot Available in Europe

The Huawei E5788u-96a Gigabit LTE Hotspot is now available for some network providers in Europe. The mobile WLAN router is currently the fastest mobile hotspot in Europe with speeds of up to 1 GBit/s. The modem chipset comes from HiSilicon, a subsidiary of Huawei. Also on board are a large color display and a WLAN extender function, the device is charged via USB type C interface.

Huawei E5788 E5788u-96a Gigabit LTE Hotspot

Gigabit LTE modem

The Huawei E5788’s modem supports LTE Cat16 (Category 16) at speeds of up to 1Gbps downlink and up to 100Mbps uplink, as long as the mobile network is able to handle those speeds as well. In addition to LTE, UMTS with up to 42.2 Mbit/s in the download (DC-HSPA+) and up to 5.76 Mbit/s in the uplink and GSM/EDGE are of course supported.

 

WLAN with offload function (extender)

The WLAN module in the Huawei E5788 operates in the frequency ranges around 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. The WLAN Extender function is also available, so you can use an existing wireless network as Internet access and saves data volume from the mobile data plan. Once configured, the E5788 automatically connects to a known WLAN within range.

Huawei E5788 E5788u-96a Gigabit LTE Hotspot

Disadvantages of Huawei E5788

Even if the Huawei E5788 offers an extremely fast modem – some disadvantages are already apparent without a detailed test on the data sheet. So the battery is not changeable and there are no connections for an external LTE antenna. Also missing is a RJ45 Ethernet LAN port, which could easily pass on the extremely high speeds of the modem to other devices. Last but not least, of course, the high price of currently over 300 € is also a big disadvantage – similarly equipped devices with a slightly weaker modem, there are already for about half of the price.

Huawei E5788 E5788u-96a Gigabit LTE Hotspot

Alternatives to the Huawei E5788

If you really want a Gigabit LTE modem with LTE Cat16 or better, you only have one alternative to the Huawei E5788: the Netgear Nighthawk M1 MR1100. The router is about the same price and offers a LTE Cat16 Gigabit modem from Qualcomm, in contrast to the Huawei E5788, the Nighthawk M1 has a RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet LAN interface, a removable battery and connections for an external antenna. If you want to know more different between the two mobile 4G routers, Click here: Huawei E5788 vs netgear M1

Huawei E5788 E5788u-96a Gigabit LTE Hotspot

If you are also satisfied with a 600 Mbps LTE modem, you should definitely take a closer look at the Netgear AirCard 810 hotspot. This also offers a touch screen, but also has a removable battery and the ability to connect external mobile antennas. If even 300 Mbit/s or LTE Cat6 is sufficient, there are many more choices available. For example, you could look at the Huawei E5885 hotspot, which comes with a huge 6,400 mAh battery and also has a special RJ45 Ethernet LAN port integrated.

Qualcomm Snapdragon X24 LTE Cat.20 Modem Released

Qualcomm today unveiled a new LTE modem in the run-up to Mobile World Congress. The Snapdragon X24 modem supports LTE up to category 20, delivering speeds up to 2 Gigabits per second over LTE. The LTE modem of the 8th generation is to be produced using the 7 nanometer process. At the MWC in Barcelona at the end of February, the modem will be shown for the first time in live operation, Qualcomm shows there in partnership with the Australian network operator Telstra, the network equipment supplier Ericsson and the network specialists Netgear.

World’s first LTE Cat20 modem

The Qualcomm Snapdragon X24 chip is the world’s first LTE category 20 modem. So far, mobile modems with LTE Cat18 were the fastest available chipsets. With LTE Cat18 up to 1.2 GBit/s are possible, for example, this supports the Qualcomm Snapdragon X20, which is installed in the 2018 flagship chipset Snapdragon 845.  The HiSilicon Kirin 970 also supports LTE Cat18, installed for example in the Huawei Mate 10. The now presented Snapdragon X24 adds another decent amount of speed and offers up to 2 GBit/s in the downlink.

Up to 2 gigabits per second are possible through the combination of various technologies. According to Qualcomm, the Snapdragon X24 supports seven-fold carrier aggregation (7CC CA), meaning that up to 7 different frequency ranges can be bundled. In addition, the 4 × 4 MIMO antenna technology is supported simultaneously on up to 5 frequency ranges.

The new highlight feature is the ability to use FD-MIMO (Full Dimension MIMO) antenna technology. Even LAA, ie license-assisted access in the 5 GHz frequency range, has so far rarely been integrated into mobile radio modems.

Also in the uplink more speed

The uplink speeds are usually always well behind the downlink data rates, here is the technology on the end device side a bit more expensive, especially in terms of the antenna technology. But here too, the Snapdragon X24 offers some good improvements: in addition to 3CC CA (triple carrier aggregation), 256QAM modulation is also supported. As a result, speeds up to 316 Mbps are also possible in the uplink LTE Cat20.

Other technologies in the Snapdragon X24

The very high maximum data rates can only be used in the LTE network if the network operator has also equipped its mobile network accordingly. Often not all technologies are used, so that only a part of the maximum possible speed arrives at the terminal. But the Qualcomm Snapdragon X24 modem also supports some technologies that are fully usable in slower networks. For example, there would be the possibility for terminal manufacturers to offer a dual SIM function with LTE on both cards as well as VoLTE functionality.