T-Mobile has introduced the Coolpad Surf, a 600 MHz-capable mobile hotspot.
T-Mobile has introduced a mobile hotspot that supports 600 MHz airwaves, bringing the carrier’s total tally of Band 71–capable devices to 29.
The pocket-sized Coolpad Surf is the first-ever 600 MHz hotspot, T-Mobile says, and costs $3 per month for two years plus a data plan, which start at $10 per month with AutoPay for 2GB of data.
The hotspot has a 2150 mAh battery that can lasts for 5.3 hours of continuous use, or 48 hours on standby, and can handle up to 15 devices at once.
In addition to 600 MHz LTE, the device also supports 4G LTE and 3G bands.
T-Mobile has been rapidly rolling out 600 MHz LTE after winning a large swath of mid-band spectrum licenses at the FCC’s Broadcast Incentive Auction in 2017. The service is now available in more than 2,700 cities and towns across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
T-Mobile introduced the first-ever 600 MHz device—the LG V30—in September 2017.
“The Coolpad Surf joins an impressive lineup of 600 MHz capable devices at T-Mobile—we went from zero devices to 29 in just over a year with phones, tablets, IoT devices and now, a hotspot,” said Neville Ray, CTO of T-Mobile, in a statement. “Now, along with 600 MHz adding more coverage and more capacity, T-Mobile customers continue to get more choice. And we’re just getting started.”
In OpenSignal’s most recent report, T-Mobile was a close second behind Verizon for 4G availability, with the carriers clocking in at 94 and 94.2 percent, respectively—scores OpenSignal said indicated “superb LTE reach.” T-Mobile and Verizon were neck-and-neck for fastest average download speeds of about 21 Mbps, according to OpenSignal.
