Three offers HSPA+ MiFi hub for faster mobile wireless
Three has released a new MiFi hub that acts as a wireless router capable of up to 21.1 Mbps connections in HSPA+ areas.
The unit — available from Monday — is called the Huawei E586 MiFi, and is around 40 percent faster than the previous generation Huawei MiFi device, Three said. A spokesman added that the device was faster than its predecessor, even in areas not covered by HSPA+, thanks to a new chip.
"A natural evolution from the previous model, the E586 MiFi provides fast, secure Wi-Fi for tablets, laptops and handheld games consoles at the touch of a button," Three said in a statement. "Customers will experience significant speed improvements compared to the existing award-winning MiFi."
The device has an OLED display that will show the user information such as how much data has been used, how fast the connection is, and the duration of the active session. It can also display the username and password, for faster pairing with other devices. Additionally, the Huawei Wi-Fi gateway also comes with a charging cradle "for best performance in the home", Three said.
The unit can support up to five devices, has a microSD card slot with support for cards up to 32GB, and has a claimed battery life of around four-and-a-half hours. It also has a browser-based management dashboard.
Pay-as-you-go customers can buy the Huawei E586 for £84.99 — with an initial 3GB of usage — and contract customers can get it from £7.87, with a one-off cost of £49.99.
Three is currently in the process of upgrading its network to 3G HSPA+. It hopes to have upgraded 80 percent of its network to HSPA+ by the end of 2011, with the rest following "soon after".
In the first wave of a new scheme, the company is also giving 11 rural broadband 'not-spots' free MiFi routers and free data for a year, as well as placing routers in communal locations, like the village pub.
Photo credit: Three