Novatel MiFi 4082 WiMAX Mobile Hotspot Clears FCC

Novatel Wireless has been promising WiMAX-capable MiFi mobile hotspots since February this year, but it's taken until now for the 4G device to show up in any form. Fresh through the FCC is the Novatel MiFi 4082, complete with CDMA/EVDO and WiMAX connectivity that can be shared out over a WiFi connection.

Novatel has slapped a confidentiality agreement on the juicier parts of the filing, so there are no test photos nor user guide to peruse, only the MiFi 4082 label able. Still, back in February the company was happily gloating over seeing 18Mbps throughput in their WiMAX MiFi testing, with a theoretical peak of over 30Mbps downlink and 10Mbps uplink.

Real-world speeds will obviously be lower, but the market for WiMAX mobile hotspots is still pretty scarce – Sprint's Overdrive is the only example the carrier offers – and so if Novatel get the pricing, size and battery life right, the MiFi 4082 could still be a winner despite the amount of time its taking to get to market. Still, the company has a lot to do when it comes to pricing; Clear is offering its own WiMAX hotspots at heavily reduced prices this week.

[via Engadget]