The hotspot is coming. AT&T just showed off its new Netgear Nighthawk M5 Fusion hotspot, which will be the first consumer mobile 5G device in the world when it launches before the end of the year.
The Nighthawk M5 Fusion, as we predicted, looks a lot like Netgear's existing Nighthawk M1, which was the first gigabit LTE hotspot when it launched last year.
The new hotspot includes a Qualcomm X50 modem, the first consumer 5G modem. AT&T didn't confirm other specs for the Nighthawk M5 Fusion (we got the name from an image title on AT&T's press site), but we think it also has a Qualcomm X20 modem for gigabit-plus speeds on LTE.
AT&T said it connected to the web with the Nighthawk in Waco, Texas, yesterday, emphasizing that it's moving ahead with its plans for being the first consumer mobile 5G network in the world. While Verizon launched 5G services for home internet in October, they aren't mobile, and they don't yet adhere to the global 5G-NR standard.
The cities getting mobile 5G this year will be Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Louisville, Oklahoma City, New Orleans, Raleigh, San Antonio, and Waco, AT&T said in a press release on Sept. 10. Initially, AT&T's millimeter-wave system will only cover parts of those cities, probably the densest parts of town.
All four US carriers are launching 5G soon, although they're all taking different approaches. AT&T's millimeter-wave network will likely give you gigabit-plus speeds on the go, but with very limited initial coverage. Verizon's similar network is for fixed connections right now, although the company will transition to an approach similar to AT&T's early next year. We're likely to see phones for both networks announced in late February with launches in March or April.
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T-Mobile and Sprint are primarily using existing cellular frequencies for 5G, which have much better coverage but slower speeds. Their plans are a little mixed up because the two companies are trying to merge, but they promise launches in the first half of 2019.
AT&T hasn't said anything about pricing or service plans for the Nighthawk M5 Fusion.
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