We expect that come 2019, we will be hearing a lot of talk about 5G as well as seeing various devices supporting the technology. However we also imagine that much like 4G, there won’t be many devices supporting 5G at launch, but Sprint thinks that they might have a way to deal with that.
The company has recently announced that they will be working with HTC to create what they’re calling a 5G mobile smart hub that will bring 5G internet speeds to devices. Details are a bit scarce, save for the fact that the device will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon platform and will be using the Snapdragon X50 5G modem.
We imagine that this device probably won’t be too different from current mobile hotspots, where it will allow users to bring it out with them so that even if their mobile devices do not support 5G yet, they will still be able to take advantage of the speeds by connecting their devices to this 5G mobile smart hub.
The use of the term “smart” also suggests that it might be able to do more than just act as a hotspot. There is no word on pricing yet, but this could depend on the plans that you choose to attach to the device. There is no mention of availability either save for a general timeframe of the first half of 2019, which is also when Sprint expects to launch a fully-integrated 5G smartphone from LG.