Real World Performance and Conclusion
Specifications and theoretical performance numbers are all well and good, but the true "proof in the pudding" comes from testing the devices under real-world conditions. During the launch event, Qualcomm, Netgear, and Telstra allows us to witness real-time use statistics of devices attached to the Netgear Nighthawk M1 Mobile Router to demonstrate its capabilities and prove the claims of its 1 Gbps download and 150 Mbps upload capabilities (enabled via the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset and X16 modem).
Speed Test Demo
Using the standard network speed measuring utility SpeedTest, the event runners were able to demonstrate how well a laptop connected to a 4GX cellular network could perform when connected to a Netgear Nighthawk M1 Mobile Router. They were able to reliably achieve download speeds greater than 900 Mbps and upload speeds of 127 Mbps while connected to the Telstra 4GX celluar network. Further, notice that the SpeedTest was conducted using non-Telstra servers. They chose to use Exetel-hosted servers to better demonstrate the capabilities of the 4GX network in combination with the Netgear Nighthawk M1 Mobile Router.
File transfer from cloud drive
More telling of true real-world performance is an actual file transfer between a locally connected system and a cloud-base file storage account. In this test, two different systems were connected to cellular networks. One was connected to a 4G LTE network, while the other was connected to the Netgear Nighthawk M1 Mobile router which in turn connected to the Telstra 4GX cellular network. The speed differences shown speak volumes, with the transfer speeds achieved over the 4GX network almost doubling that of the 4G network. The most telling is the side by side picture where the transfer has completed for the system connected to the 4GX network while the other system is still transferring files.
Pricing
As of February 1, the Netgear Nighthawk M1 Mobile Router is expected to be available for purchase in the Australian launch markets at an MSRP of $360 (AUD). Widespread availability is expected in the second half of 2017 as more carriers adopt the 4GX Gigabit LTE cellular standard.
Conclusion
The newly introduced Gigabit LTE standard implemented by Ericsson, Qualcomm, and Telstra, as well as the Gigabit LTE device embodied in Netgear's Nighthawk M1 Mobile Router, offer a glimpse into the performance we can expect from future cellular networks. All four companies are dedicated to this standard and expect wide-spread adoption of Gigabit LTE by the end of 2017 and into 2018. As the infrastructure grows, Qualcomm has an impressive opportunity with 4GX-capable devices based on its Snapdragon 835 SoC chipset as well as its Snapdragon X16 Gigabit LTE modem chipset.
Those specs look exciting.
Those specs look exciting. Perhaps this will lower latency in accessing non-local virtual images and allow for cloud based gpu processing?~!
So 5G means there can maybe
So 5G means there can maybe be someone like Google/others that can roll out a 5G service for laptops/mobile devices and homes that can compete with any wired form of internet service provider. I’d really love to be able to have an internet that I can use without having any box, cable or wireless router and a 5G radio built into my laptop would be nice. 5G just may be the answer to a lot of rural high speed internet roll out without the cost of physical infrastructure getting in the way.
Now if there can be a least one service provider for each service area that is NOT also in the content creation/cable TV business then I am very interested in 5G ability on my laptop(this Router IP built into my laptop configured for single device usage). I wish that all internet service provider business would be separated from the content creation/content provider business and let there be real competition among the content creators/content providers for my business.
Edit: 5G
to: 4GX/5G
Do this
Edit: 5G
to: 4GX/5G
Do this for each occurence of “5G” in the above post!
5G is the future spec, not
5G is the future spec, not the same as 4GX. 5G was only mentioned b/c Qualcomm, Ericsson, and Telstra were stressing very hard that they were positioning 4GX to be the fall-back layer once 5G comes out. 5G is still in very early alpha stages, not expected to be release until 2020-2022 range at a minimum (again, according to the company reps)…
Yes, your headline said 5G
Yes, your headline said 5G but I meant 4GX not 5G currently hence the edit that you replied to changing all references from 5G to to 4GX/5G. Maybe I should have said 4GX now and 5G later when it becomes available.
But that 4GX is definitely a good start towards transitioning to a better method of internet service for all without all the expense of running wiring to every house/apartment. I’d even be up for the government funding some of the construction(Rural Areas) of the tower part of the infrastructure and charging any providers a small fee over a longer amount of time to attach to the towers in rural areas to help things along for those that currently have no high speed internet options.
The towers would be available to all Internet(Only) providers and the fees collected could help defray the costs of tower building and upkeep in much the same way that the interstate highways are funded. There could also be some help in getting the towers attached to the internet backbone/trunk lines in rural communities to get that 4GX service provided as quickly as possible with a fair and equal chance for all internet service providers(NOT Cable/Content providers) big and small.
Really we need the Internet service provider segment legally separated from the Cable(TV)/Content providers with the Internet Only providers being the ones deemed necessary for the access that all households need. Let the internet service providers be the infrastructure and the content/TV(Cable) providers forced to compete with each other for the consumers’ business over that infrastructure with rates that are fair to all.
I have one question about the router, can I attach a Raspberry Pi/other similar device to the Ethernet part of the router and will I be able to use the Pi(With Keyboard and USB monitor) in a mobile setting. I’d like to see some secure Linux OS based Pi/Other systems tested with this SKU. I’m really not interested if this is only for IOT usage.
Qualcomm needs a little attention from the antitrust part of the US Justice Department though! Qualcomm does not appear to understand the FRAND requirements of having ones IP taken as part of any standard that all are required to use in wireless/other communication markets. As much as I do not like Apple, I have to agree that Qualcomm only deserves from Apple FRAND levels of payments and Qualcomm has no rights to a percentage cut of Apple’s total unrelated value added sales action! Maybe even the US Justice Department can make some of the RICO laws apply to what Qualcomm is doing in demanding an unfair cut of any device maker’s unrelated to Qualcomm’s IP licensing FRAND only fees on any licensee’s unrelated sales percentage for any Qualcomm FRAND related IP.
Theorectically, you should be
Theorectically, you should be able to attach a Rapberry Pi to the ethernet port of the netgear device. During the conference, they had a 360 camera attached to one for conference streaming purposes…
Seeing as I still don’t get
Seeing as I still don’t get proper HSPA speeds I look forward to this being implemented by my provider in 40 years.
So, another generation of
So, another generation of cellular standards locked to Qualcomm?
could be, but it sounded like
could be, but it sounded like they wanted this be become an industry standard as a stepping stone to 5G in the next five years so that 5G fall-back would be to the faster 4GX rather than to 4G or 3G even. We'll see…
Yay, now I can eat up my
Yay, now I can eat up my entire 12GB data plan in 96 seconds instead of the normal 40 minutes. Progress.
Already bought the unlocked
Already bought the unlocked Netgear Nighthawk M1 from https://www.4gltemall.com/netgear-nighthawk-m1-mr1100.html
But now it seems the ATT version Nighthawk M1 is more powerful than Telstra version. Feel bad, the price is high, shall i buy another one?