Telstra and Optus are both 4G LTE network providers in Australia, and they provide similar LTE frequency bands. To meet the demand for LTE wireless connection, they both have the 4G LTE mobile WiFi hotspots for their contract plan. Telstra had introduced Huawei E5787 Mobile WiFi touch to its product range while the Optus had latest Netgear Aircard 800s. Then somebody may ask: What’s the difference between Huawei E5787 and Netgear Aircard 800s? Which one is better if buying from the two routers?
Telstra 4GX WiFi Pro E5787 VS Optus Modem AC800s Appearance
The specific model for Telstra is Huawei E5787ph-67a, unlike the brother model Huawei E5786, the E5787ph-67a has a 2.4-inch touchscreen and no button on the front side. The power button is on the top edge side while on the opposite side, the USB 2.0 port and two connectors for external antennas are available. The back cover of Huawei E5787 could be removed for changing the battery or inserting the SIM card.
Like the Telstra 4G WiFi Pro Unlocked, the Optus 4G WiFi modem 800s also has a 2.4-inch touchscreen and there are two buttons at the screen side, one for home and the other for “back”. The button is also on the top edge side and the two connectors for external antennas are available at the opposite side with the USB 3.0 port. The difference is the antenna connectors are on two sides of the USB port. The back cover of Optus 800s could also be removed for exchange or inserting the SIM card. They are both configured with two TS-9 connectors.
Optus AC800S VS Huawei E5787 Specs and features
From the appearance, we can see the Telstra 4G WiFi Pro and Optus 4G Cat.9 modem 800s are very similar in design, including the touchscreen, home button, external antenna connectors. Let’s compare the Telstra 4G WiFi Pro specs with Optus 4G modem 800S Specs to see what the difference is in the specifications in the table below:
| Model | Netgear Aircard 800S | Huawei E5787 |
| Product type | LTE Mobile Hotspot | LTE Mobile Hotspot |
| Category | LTE Cat.9 | LTE Cat.6 |
| Chipset | Qualcomm MDM9240 | HiSilicon LTE Cat6 Chipset (Cortex A9 Processor) |
| Data rates | DL 450Mbps/UL 50Mbps | DL 300Mbps/UL 50Mbps |
| Supported 4G LTE frequency bands | B1, B3, B7, B28, B40 | * Huawei E5787s-33a: Band 1/3/5/7/8/20 * Huawei E5787Ph-67a: Band 1/3/5/7/8/28 |
| WLAN | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band 2.4GHz & 5GHz | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band 2.4GHz & 5GHz |
| Max support users | 15 users | 10 users |
| MIMO | 2 x 2 MIMO | 2 X 2 MIMO |
| Connector for external antenna | Two, TS-9 jacks | Two, TS-9 jacks |
| Buy Antenna | Optus AC800s External Antenna | Huawei E5787 external Antenna |
| App management | Netgear Aircard APP | Huawei Hilink APP |
| SIM type | Micro SIM | Micro SIM |
| Battery | 2930 mAh | 3000mAh |
| Dimensions | 110 x 68 x 16.1 mm | 109.00 x 58.00 x 7.50mm |
| Ethernet Port | No | No |
| Datasheet download | Netgear AC800S Datasheet | Huawei E5787 Datasheet |
| User Manual | Optus 4G modem 800S Manual | Huawei E5787 Manual |
| Other features | 3 band CA | 2 band CA |
| Reviews | Netgear Aircard 800s review | Huawei E5787 Review |
| Price | 199.00USD | 299.00USD |
Summary
From the specs table, we can see the Optus 4G WiFi modem 800s is more advanced than Telstra 4G WiFi Pro E5787 because the Optus modem AC800S could support LTE download speed up to 450Mbps while the Huawei E5787 could only reach LTE download speed to 300mbps. With Qualcomm chipset, Optus 4G modem 800s could support LTE category 9 while Telstra E5787 supports LTE Cat.6 on Huawei Hisilicon LTE Cat.6 chipset. Telstra 4G WiFI Pro could support maximum 10 users to access the internet while Optus 800s would support up to 15 users. The most interesting is that the Optus 4G WiFi modem unlocked price is 199.00USD while the unlocked Telstra 4G WiFi Pro at price of 299.00USD. So if you would buy an unlocked 4G mobile hotspot from the two, it’s obvious that the unlocked Optus 4G WiFi modem 800s is better than unlocked Telstra 4G WiFi Pro E5787.