For many people there is a real need for an alternative to the NBN be that because the don’t have the best connection available, or because installing a fixed connection simply isn’t desirable at the location.

And don’t just think of home users here. This could be your local sports club canteen, or a small business in need of internet and wifi for things like their payment terminal or point of sale computer.

Whatever the use-case, the solution for getting internet where perhaps there is only power and there’s more than just one device you’re looking to connect.

Of course for one device, ad hoc, you can hotspot from your mobile phone.

Then there are small portable devices like the Netgear Nighthawk M5 that offer mobile data on the go.

Where the Netgear AX4 4G LTE WiFi router dominates is in a situation where you want stable internet for a wide area. Because the AX4 is for all intents and purposes the kind of WiFi router everyone is familiar with.

Critically though, you’re not connecting this router to a fixed-line internet connection, nor is it a Modem for VDSL or other forms of fixed-internet. You put a NanoSIM in the back and it uses the mobile data network to establish your internet connection.

Really quite simple.

I used a Vodafone SIM card and it worked within minutes.

The App based setup process was easy to follow, took almost no time and things were established and my network up and running within 10 minutes from box to connectivity.

Within the app you can also enable the Netgear Protect features which offer a layer of internet security at the network level by subscription.

Simply though, at its core, the AX4 4G LTE WiFI Router takes the speed we know and expect of our 4G networks, and offers it across a WiFi 6 capable network.

4G as a backup

Importantly, you still have a WAN port on the AX4, allowing you to connect to a fixed line broadband connection, and then should that fall over you have 4G as a backup.

It’s similar in many ways to how some of the Telco modems work on the NBN offering that backup in case of an NBN outage.

WiFi 6 Power across your network

For the most modern of devices that WiFi 6 capability means getting the most from your device and a more efficient network overall.

At $499 it’s actually cracking good value, of course you’ll need a decent mobile data plan as well.

Simple setup, great speeds, a complete WiFi network for your home or business.

Web: Netgear