Chinese network equipment giant Huawei unveiled its first commercial 5G router at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. The device is called “5G CPE Pro” and visually resembles the prototype, which Huawei already presented in 2018 for various 5G live shows.
The Huawei 5G CPE Pro Router is based on the HiSilicon Balong 5000 modem, which is Huawei’s first multimode 5G modem. Multimode means that in addition to 5G, 4G/LTE is supported and so a so-called dual-mode operation is possible. If the 5G reception is not strong enough, the unit will automatically switch to 4G mode so that the connection remains.
According to Huawei, the maximum speed in the 5G network is at 3.2 gigabits per second. The Balong 5000 chipset can bundle up to two 100 MHz wide frequency ranges (2CA). The Huawei 5G CPE Pro Router can handle both the frequency range between 3.4 and 3.8 gigahertz (C-band) and the millimeter-wave range between 26 and 28 gigahertz.
On the front, there are three LEDs and a WPS button for fast Wi-Fi encryption. On the back of the Huawei 5G CPE, there is a power adapter, power button, and SIM card slot at the bottom. Two RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet ports for LAN / WAN are also integrated. The WLAN works both on 2.4 GHz and on 5 GHz, in addition to the WLAN ac standard the new WLAN 6 is supported. In addition, there are two connectors for external 5G antennas(Buy Huawei 5G CPE Pro external antenna). The total design looks very similar to the predecessor Huawei B618s-65d router.
Whether and when the Huawei 5G CPE Pro Router will be launched to the market is unknown. At the MWC, Huawei also shows the 5G CPE Window Router, which uses an outdoor antenna and module, so that a good 5G connection can be guaranteed even in regions with poorer reception conditions.