Posted: 17th Aug, 2011 By: MarkJ


Mobile operator Three (3) UK has announced its intention to launch the
Huawei E586 MiFi, which is essentially a battery powered wireless router that has been designed to distribute the operators Mobile Broadband ( 3G ) service over a Wi-Fi link. It also includes a
micro SD card slot and has approximately
4.5 hours of battery life.
Three (3) claims that the E586 will be the first mobile Wi-Fi device in the UK to feature next generation
HSPA+ technology and will deliver
speeds of up to 21.2Mbps (5.76Mbps uploads). Customers are being told to expect "
significant speed gains" of "
initially around 40% faster", which is best taken with a VERY BIG pinch of salt.
David Kerrigan, Head of mobile broadband at 3, commented:
"As the UK’s biggest 3G mobile broadband network, we’re delighted to introduce our high speed mobile Wi-Fi product. This joins our award winning HSPA+ dongles making us the only operator offering an entirely next generation HSPA+ enabled range of mobile broadband products. Aside from this step up in speed, the new cradle charger, which looks great, will help people get the best performance in the home."
The E586 includes an
OLED screen for displaying key information like the amount of data used, speed and length of browsing time. In addition a new feature allows users to see their Wi-Fi user name and password on screen at the touch of a button for fast pairing with new gadgets, which doesn't sound like a very security conscious idea.
At present Three (3) is aiming to have
80% of its UK network upgraded to support HSPA+ by the end of 2011, with the rest following soon afterwards. However the operator would do well not to promote a technology speed as its real-world performance capability, which could be very misleading.
Ofcom's May 2011 report found that the average Mobile Broadband download speed in the UK was just
1.5Mbps (Megabits per second) - rising to 2.1Mbps in areas of "
good 3G coverage". That's despite the fact that existing HSPA tech can reach 14.4Mbps. HSPA+ support alone will not fix any pre-existing capacity and coverage related performance issues.
The new MiFi, built by Huawei, will be available in store and online from September. Final prices TBA.