Virgin Mobile Partners with NETGEAR to Create Mingle Mobile Hotspot

Telecommunications company Virgin Mobile continues to innovate within the mobile hotspot market. Alongside its computer equipment manufacturing partner, NETGEAR, the pair announced this week that they have released the new NETGEAR Mingle mobile hotspot, a first in the industry, noted for its use of the Spring Spark tri-band LTE network. Virgin Mobile, a subsidiary of Sprint, will offer the Mingle as part of its 4G LTE Broadband2Go portfolio.

The Mingle can connect to 3G and 4G networks when its available and transmit broadband information with a Wi-Fi signal. So, customers who own Wi-Fi-only devices, such as tablets that are not configured to connect to a mobile network, can rely on the Mingle to provide them with Internet access both in and out of the home. The Mingle's battery lasts up to 12.5 hours, and users can protect it from unwanted access with a password. It allows up to 10 devices to connect to it at once, so large groups can easily make use of the hotspot.

The hotspot also can interface with a number of accessories, including a desktop charging cradle and the Netgear AirCard app. The charging cradle both charges the device and boosts its coverage radius and broadband data transmission speed. AirCard allows customers to use their Android and iOS devices to remotely control their Mingle hotspots.

Sprint has seen mixed numbers lately, concerning its subscriber base and revenue totals. TechZone360 reports that Sprint was the only major U.S. mobile carrier to post a fourth quarter loss in 2013. Despite that setback, though, the company has seen a substantial increase in subscribers, and that could be part of the reason why it continues to push its Spark LTE network. Sprint recently expanded the network to include Baltimore and Philadelphia, increasing the total number of Spark markets, as of February this year, to 14.

Broadband2Go is a no-contract mobile broadband service that allows customers to order data packages either on a daily or monthly basis. Anyone can order from 250MB per day up to 6GB per month with no commitment.