As we have reported earlier Rcom is migrating its existing CDMA subscribers to its 4G network which it will soon launch in partnership with Jio. The operator currently has around 5 million CDMA subscribers including those using EvDO data cards and fixed wireless phones. Now Rcom has listed its very first 4G LTE based Wi-Pod pocket router on its e-store.
The wi-pod with model number WD670 has a pebble shape which is similar to Jio MiFi device. The front face has the power button along with the Reliance Wi-Pod branding and 5 Led indicators for LTE signal strength, uplink and downlink data transmission, wifi network, WPS and battery charge level. The left panel has the familiar micro USB charging and connectivity port. The device is currently available for pre booking for a price of Rs. 2699 which is at a discount of Rs.500 on the actual printed price of Rs.3199. As per the above image the deliveries start from 25th May, though if you click on the buy now button it shows the device in stock and shipping after 30th June.
On the tech specs front the device supports FD-LTE on bands 5 and 3 (850/1800 MHz) and TD-LTE on band 40 (2300 MHz) and is capable of delivering downlink speeds of up to 150 Mbps and uplink speeds of up to 50 Mbps through multi carrier aggregation. The device is capable of supporting 31 users simultaneously which is much higher than the 5 to 6 that traditional pocket routers support. The router sports a 2300 mAh battery which gives a usage time of 5 to 6 hours in normal network conditions. The wifi network is based on the 802.11 b/g/n protocol and on the 2.4 GHz band only.
Note: The website does mention something about upgrading existing reliance data cards to 4G by clicking on the 'upgrade to 4G' tab on the landing page of the data card when plugged into the USB port of your PC. Though the site does not clarify whether existing reliance 3, pro 3 and wi-pod users will get an exchange upgrade discount or if the lifetime 1GB per month subscription plan will be carried forward to the new LTE Wi-Pod.
