Vodafone's hybrid modem will stay connected when NBN stalls
The telco wants to get rid of a major pain point when customers start hooking up to its NBN service later this year.
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Hell hath no fury like a person waiting for their broadband to get hooked up.
Vodafone has worked this out, and decided to launch a hybrid modem that will keep you connected to the internet while you wait for your NBN connection to kick in.
A SIM card inside the Vodafone Wi-Fi Hub will give you access to Vodafone's 4G network for up to 30 days, meaning you'll be able to go online in those early days while your connection gets hooked up. The 4G connectivity will also kick in if there's an outage.
Wi-Fi Hub features:
- Supports up to 32 devices simultaneously
- Compatible with ADSL, VDSL and NBN
- 1xGigabit Ethernet port
- 2xFast Ethernet ports
- 2.4GHz Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n certified
- 5GHz Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac certified
- Integrated 4G LTE capability with 3G backup
- 1xMultifunction USB 2.0 Port
- DLNA Certified
- Easy push button connection to pair wireless devices (WPS)
-
VPN
Pass-through for PPTP, L2TP and Ipsec
We still don't know pricing or availability for the Wi-Fi Hub (Vodafone is yet to confirm its NBN plan pricing after first announcing plans to become a reseller in October last year).
We do know you won't be charged for 4G usage while you're waiting to get hooked up to the NBN, though speeds will remain capped at 12Mbps down and 1Mbps up. Vodafone says this is designed to ease the strain on its mobile networks and not leave regular mobile customers getting worse service. 4G usage during outages will also be charged as part of your regular plan.
Vodafone is set to launch its NBN plans "later this year." You can sign up for more info here.
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