Since more and more operators launched theor 4G LTE network, the end users could access the wireless network in high speed for suring. The new technology improves the quaility of our life in almost every aspect, however, when more and more industies apply this technology, the basic 4G network seems not enough for high data requirement. The lucky thing is that thechnology is developing to find better solution in our life: LTE-A technology is bound to provide higher data transmisson.
We had introduced many LTE category 4 or CAT 5 USB stick and WiFi router, they are born to support the wireless speed for 100 or 150 megabytes per scend. But the vendors didn’t stop here. At the beginning of 2014, two LTE category 6 mobile WiFi were presented to public. They are Huawei E5786 and ZTE flare.
Before we introduce the two new terminals, it is necessary to have a review about the LTE categories and their corresponding connection speed that could be achieved. Below table shows the data information for reference:
On the table, we can see the LTE category 6 can provide the support for 300mbit/s downlink speed, which is the double of current CAT5, and three times than CAT3. Huawei E5786 and ZTE Flare are the two new gadget to achieve this fantastic link speed.
So here comes a question, if my ISP provides the LTE Cat6 network, which one is better between the Huawei E5786 and ZTE Flare? To answer this question, we must first know their functions and difference, which will help us to make the right decision. Then what’s the main difference between them?
We can compare below the main features of them:
| Model Number | ||
| Category | Cat6 | Cat6 |
| Chipset | HiSilicon | Qualcomm Gobi 9×30 |
| Network mode | FDD/TDD DC-HSPA+/HSPA+/HSPA/UMTS GSM/GPRS/EDGE |
FDD/TDD DC-HSPA+/HSPA+/HSPA/UMTS GSM/GPRS/EDGE |
| Maximum Speed (FDD) | 300Mbps DL/50Mbps UL | 300Mbps DL/50Mbps UL |
| Maximum Speed (TDD) | 224Mbps DL | 224Mbps DL |
| MIMO | 2 x 2 MIMO | 2 x 2 MIMO |
| WiFi | IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac | IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac |
| Maximum WiFi Connection Users |
10 |
32 |
| External Antenna Connector | 2 TS-9 connectors | 2 TS-9 connectors |
| Dimensions | 106.0 x 66.0 x 15.9 mm | unknown yet |
From the table above, the features are very similar except the Chipset and supported WiFi users. Huawei E5786 is based Huawei own brand Hisilicon LTE Cat6 chipset while ZTE Flare is running on Qualcomm latest Gob 9×30 chipset. We can’t conclude which chipset is better, after we get the device, we will test the function. Theoretically, Qualcomm chipset is better than Huawei, which also decides the high cost of ZTE Flare. The second one is Huawei E5786 support maximum 10 WiFi users while ZTE Flare could support 32 wireless terminals via WiFi.
It seems ZTE Flare is more powerful than Huawei E5786, after we get the price quote, use will make a balance between them.