Internet speeds have improved over the years both for wired and wireless connection. Cellular connectivity particularly, which enables mobile communication, is slowly adopting 5G standards which promises faster speeds of up-to 10Gbps.

 

With improved base station set up such as massive MIMO configuration, small cell, and beamforming in antennas, which are part of 5G characteristics, faster speeds will be realized. 4G LTE is already offering fast speeds of up-to 1Gbps with the LTE-A Pro technology which is the Gigabit version of the 4G standard. With these high speeds on the 4th and 5th generations, the 3G standard may soon be laid to its death bed in the US.

 

With the evolving mobile network speeds, end user devices need to keep up with the developments to give users the 4G and 5G experience. Different cellular routers or mobile hotspots have varying specs which of course determines their prices. You may want to check LTE-UE categories, which determine how base stations will communicate with the end devices and determine speeds to these devices.

 

Other important considerations include:

• Bands of operation for the cellular and Wi-Fi networks.

• Routers with external antennas both for cellular and Wi-Fi can come in handy when you want to improve the signal coverage/reception.

• The type of SIM slots and number of slots. A dual SIM is good for switching between different providers

• Portable routers should have good battery life for long connection hours before requiring a recharge.

 

We have listed below some of the best cellular routers for consideration:

 

Portable/Traveling Routers 

MOFI 4500 4GXeLTE-SIM4

This 4G capable router has a rugged design but has great performance and offers good internet speeds. With its small size, it is easily portable, and the rugged enclosure gives it a good life span.

• LTE-A feature gives it great 4G speeds. With 2 external antenna ports (SMA connectors), it is possible to improve the signal reception in case one is experiencing poor 4G signals.

• Has 2 Wi-Fi antennas for wireless connectivity and possible indoor coverage improvement for the WI-FI signals as well.

• Has 5 LAN ports for wired connectivity and 1 WAN connection.

• Recommended by T-mobile.

• Its small size ensures portability. The rugged design will keep this router durable giving you value for money.

• The problem with the SIM card slot is it is 2FF meant for large SIMs. One will require an adaptor if they have the micro or nano size SIMs.

 

 

 

Netgear M1 mobile hotspot MR1100

The MR1100 is a mobile hotspot that offers high download speeds of up-to 1Gbps. It falls under LTU-EU category 16 and provides the LTE-A Pro of the 4G standard. It can be used at home, on-the-go, or when traveling.

• Provides high 4G internet speeds, reaching a maximum of 1Gbps download speeds.

• Has 2 external TS-9 ports for LTE signal improvement in cases where reception is poor.

• It offers Dual band Wi-Fi and can connect up-to 20 devices.

• It has 1 LAN port for a wired connection.

• It has a large battery capacity of 5040 mAH which can be recharged via its type C USB port.

• The Wi-Fi signal may not be powerful enough to cover longer distances.

 

 

 

Netgear Aircard AC810S

A 4G mobile hotspot with a good design. The attractive touchscreen gives the user all the connection information they need including data consumed, and battery life. It also offers an easy way to change the settings.

• Offers 4G speeds of up-to 600Mbs. This is classified as cat. 11. The router has two external LTE TS-9 antenna ports for cellular reception improvement.

• Supports Wi-Fi ac/b/g/n and it is dual band, you can use both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz.

• A user can connect up-to 15 devices on the WLAN.

• The battery capacity of 2930 mAH can support about 11 hours of operation.

• It is expensive.

KuWFi 4G LTE CPE Wi-Fi Internet Router

This is also a 4G portable router capable of connecting up-to 32 clients on its wireless Local area network (WLAN). With a weight of 1.35 lbs, it is easy to carry and affordable.

• Has download speeds of up-to 300Mbps

• With 4 LAN ports, you can connect your laptop, gaming console or any other LAN device with ethernet port.

• Offers high number of connections to its WLAN, up-to 32 connections.

• It has a rechargeable battery which can be recharged via a 12V 1A adapter or a 5V 2A power bank via USB.

 

TP-Link M7350 Mobile hotspot

This 4G mobile hotspot can take both micro and nano SIM and offers good 4G speed. The battery can give the user around 10hrs of 4G connectivity. It is an easy to use router with simple good design as well as portable.

• Offers 4G speeds of up-to 150Mbps.

• It also has dual band Wi-Fi connectivity and can support up-to 10 devices on the WLAN.

• Has a simple design and it is easy to use.

• With just 2000mAH of battery capacity, it is not bulky and hence suitable for on-the-go use.

• It may be too expensive compared to other mobile hotspots with higher cellular download speeds.

 

Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) Routers

 

Asus 4G-AC68U

This router can connect to the internet via fixed cable connection or via 4G cellular connection. It offers fair speed for its price compared to its peers like Huawei B618 and TP-Link AC1200 4G+. It also offers good Wi-Fi speeds.

• Can reach 4G speeds of 300 Mbps downloads and 50 Mbps upload (Cat. 6 LTE-UE). Has two external antenna ports for LTE signal improvement.

• Supports both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz Wi-Fi bands and can reach up-to speeds of 1300Mbs. Has AiRadar beamforming that ensures extended coverage as well as focusing signals to specific receiving device. It is also possible to improve Wi-Fi coverage with the external antennas.

• Offers 4 LAN ports for wired connectivity.

• The downside for this router is that it is expensive.

 

Netgear R7100LG

This is non portable 4G cellular router with good download speeds. It also allows for a fixed wired WAN connection. There is an option of a free app (Genie) to easily manage and control the router from a PC, tablet, or a smartphone.

• Offers LTE-EU cat 6 with its download speeds of up-to 300Mbps.

• Good Wi-Fi 5 speeds and supports both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands. With 3 external Wi-Fi antennas with RP-SMA plugs, one can increase coverage of the Wi-Fi signals.

• It has 5 Giga ethernet ports to connect to WAN and LAN connections.

• It is expensive.

 

Alcatel link hub HH41NH 4G LTE

This is low budget 4G router with good internet speeds, and good Wi-Fi coverage. It supports a wide cellular band but does not work on Verizon Sprint Boost Virgin or CDMA Carrier. It is compatible with a Micro SIM card.

• Supports wide range of cellular bands. With the two external antennas, one can improve the signal reception.

• The Wi-Fi signal is strong, it can reach far distance. It can support up-to 32 Wi-Fi devices.

• There are 2 LAN ports for wired connectivity.

• It is an easy router to install with easy management.

• It does not support 5Ghz band WLAN.

 

Huawei B310

Comes in white or black color. Offers smooth wireless network connections on the 4G and Wi-Fi networks. With this device, it is possible to do a rollback on any upgrade. A user can easily restore software to the previous version. Simply hold the WPS and power buttons for a seamless rollback. Overall, it is compatible with most USA cellular providers (except Verizon Sprint Net10 or Any CDMA Carrier).

• Offers 4G speeds of up-to 150/50 Mbps DL/UL. With 2 external SMA antenna ports, one can connect external antennas to improve signal reception. External antennas can be safe to install even in thunderstorms (these installations should follow NEC standards).

• Supports Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n.

• It can support up-to 32 devices on the WLAN with good reception even at longer ranges.

• Has one LAN port for wired connection and a landline phone port.

 

D-Link DWR-953

This 4G LTE router offers auto failover connection between cellular and wired connection to the giga WAN port. It is also an easy router to set up and to manage.

• Offers data rates of up-to 150Mbps download speeds and 50Mbps upload speeds. Has two external antenna ports for 4G signal reception improvement.

• Has 1 giga ethernet WAN port and 4 giga ethernet LAN ports.

• Supports various Wi-Fi standards like 802.11 ac/n/g/a/b/ for WLAN connections, and ethernet standards like 802.3 i/u for LAN connections.

• Offers auto failover between a WAN connection and the cellular connection.