Below are frequently asked questions and areas of confusion regarding cellular routers.
What are Cellular Routers vs. Hotspots?
Many smartphones and other tech products include a feature to create a mobile hotspot and corresponding WiFi network. While this is similar to the purpose of a cellular router, the router outperforms a hotspot in a few key areas:
- Cost effectiveness: Using a hotspot usually directly uses up data from your mobile cell phone plan. Cellular router data plans are separate from a phone plan and can be a fixed price. This can be easier to budget and track spending.
- Power usage: Cell phone hotspots can quickly drain the battery of a smartphone or other device. Cellular routers are better equipped to handle the power required for a mobile WiFi network.
- Speed: Internet connectivity and speed tends to be much higher with a cellular router than with a mobile hotspot from a phone. Streaming video and other high-bandwidth activities are faster with a cellular router, especially when several devices are using the same hotspot WiFi network.
What kind of data plan do you need for a cellular router?
Many phone carriers sell their own branded cellular routers and corresponding data plans. These routers will usually only work with that particular carrier’s network. For example, a Verizon cellular router will only work within the Verizon network, not AT&T — similar to the way a cell phone works. Other unlocked cellular routers can work with many different data carriers. You can insert a SIM card from your carrier of choice. You will usually need to purchase a separate data plan from your phone plan to use a cellular router. If you insert your phone’s SIM card to the cellular router, it may quickly use up all your data for the month. Plans can range in price depending on the total bandwidth and data usage they provide.
Cellular Router vs. Cellular Gateway
A cellular gateway makes it easier for many different kinds of devices, besides phones and computers, to access a cellular WiFi network. This could include sensors, monitors, thermostats, lights, and other electronics. These devices may not all be able to directly communicate with your cellular router and its WiFi network, especially if the devices all come from different manufacturers. A cellular gateway works with a cellular router to translate the information collected by each of these separate devices. This translation allows them all to interact properly with each other within a system. Cellular gateways work with cellular routers to manage “smart” homes, buildings, cars, and other connected, automated systems. For example, if a sensor within a smart home’s WiFi network hits a low enough temperature, it can trigger the heating to turn on. These two different systems can communicate with each other with the help of a cellular gateway. Cellular gateways can also be helpful in settings such as farming, scientific research, and other applications where different types of machines and the data they collect all have to interact seamlessly.
Cellular Router vs. WiFi Router
A cellular router creates its own WiFi network just like a standard router. It differs from a standard WiFi router in that it sources an Internet connection from cellular data instead of physical cables.
Cellular Router vs. Cellular Modem
A cellular modem also serves the same purpose as a cellular router, which is to provide Internet without a wired router. A cellular modem also provides an Internet connection using cellular networks instead of plugging into a wall outlet. However, a cellular modem is usually much smaller and must plug directly — usually via USB connection — into any device that needs the Internet connection. An individual cellular modem doesn’t necessarily create a WiFi network. Establishing WiFi is the job of a cellular router, which may or may not include a modem. A modem simply connects to the Internet. When you plug in a cellular modem to your device, you may see “LTE” or “4G” as an Internet option instead of a WiFi network. Many cellular routers will include a built-in modem to establish the initial internet connection, like this combination router. The router creates a WiFi network using the internet connection from the modem.
3G, 4G, 5G, and LTE Cellular Routers
A cellular router may create its WiFi network from 3G, LTE, 4G, 4G LTE, or 5G cellular data. All of these abbreviations refer to a set of benchmarks for different levels of wireless communications and Internet connectivity. These benchmarks include call quality, download and upload speed, streaming capability, and other features of Internet use. You may get different connectivity levels in different places. 3G is slower than 4G and 4G LTE. 5G is faster than 4G. 5G is the newest and most advanced level of Internet connectivity. It isn’t fully rolled out across most cellular networks, so a cellular router may not use a 5G connection everywhere. Most cellular routers will achieve Internet connectivity at all available levels — 3G, 4G, 4G LTE, LTE. Some routers can access 5G, but until the overall 5G system is established, 4G and LTE will still provide plenty of connectivity and Internet speed. Cellular routers open the possibility to access the internet from many more places than ever before. They can change the paradigm for travel, remote work, smart infrastructure development, research, and many more applications across personal, professional, and industrial use. It will likely be years before standard WiFi becomes obsolete, but cellular routers point to an exciting future for Internet connectivity across the globe.
