Cheaper Netgear mobile hotspot lets you choose your network

Netgear has announced the Nighthawk 5G M7 hotspot in Australia, a cheaper Wi-Fi 7-compatible alternative to the M7 Ultra model it released in late 2024. It’s also more flexible, letting you choose which network you want to use while travelling.

Netgear’s $799 hotspot launches alongside a new app, which houses the “eSIM Marketplace”, a platform that lets you browse and select data plans across more than 140 countries. It’s aimed at travellers who need to securely connect multiple devices while on the go, which could serve a different purpose than dedicated travel eSIMs for phones, like Simify and Holafly.

According to Netgear, the in-app marketplace helps manage data use and compare pricing of different plans. It’s billed as an alternative to using local SIM cards or relying on pricey international roaming with local telcos.

Unlike the $949 M7 Ultra, which is sold directly through Telstra, the new Nighthawk 5G M7 hotspot comes unlocked. In line with the newly launched marketplace, it supports different telcos out of the box, including physical SIMs and eSIMs.

Likely explaining the lower price, the base M7 model doesn’t support the faster 5G mmWave technology, like the M7 Ultra. Instead, it relies on the comparatively slower sub-6GHz 5G technology. In Australia, however, that’s not much of an issue, given the lack of 5G mmWave availability in the country.

Still, the Nighthawk 5G M7 supports Wi-Fi speeds of up to 3.6Gbps across up to 32 devices simultaneously. Granted, that’s dependent on the speeds offered by a telco’s SIM plan, but it should be enough for most people’s use.

Netgear says the hotspot lasts up to 10 hours on a single charge, and that it can even be used as a power bank if needed. It’s available to order now via Netgear’s online shop.

The post Cheaper Netgear mobile hotspot lets you choose your network appeared first on GadgetGuy.