Today at the 2015 International CES® trade show, NETGEAR®, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTGR) (www.netgear.com), a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers, is launching the only 4G LTE Mobile Internet offering in the U.S. that bundles a WiFi hotspot with data that won’t expire. Available now, the new NETGEAR Around Town™ Mobile Internet (www.netgear.com/AC778AT) delivers WiFi where you want it — in the car, on the train, at your vacation home, at the soccer field — wherever you want to stay connected. The new WiFi hotspot comes with 1 gigabyte (GB) of rollover data. NETGEAR Around Town Mobile Internet is among the exciting new offerings that NETGEAR is demonstrating to press, customers and channel partners this week in their suite in the Marriott Las Vegas.

The NETGEAR Around Town Mobile Internet (Photo: Business Wire)

The NETGEAR Around Town Mobile Internet (Photo: Business Wire)

With NETGEAR Around Town Mobile Internet, you’re able to roll over your unused data, purchase additional data for $25 per gigabyte, and have secure access to the Internet whenever and wherever you need it around town, avoiding the risk posed by public WiFi hotspots. Whether you use your Around Town Mobile Hotspot every day or only twice a year, there is no penalty and no commitment. You can easily add as many (or as few) gigabytes of data to your Around Town Mobile Internet service as you want by simply logging in and adjusting your data balance in less than a minute.

Leveraging the nationwide Sprint® 4G LTE network, NETGEAR Around Town Mobile Internet is ideal for people who need a secure Internet connection away from home, but don’t want the hassle of a contract. Busy parents, students, travelers, renters, retirees, and people with seasonal or temporary homes or RVs will love the convenience of a Mobile Internet offering that gives you the freedom to keep your data, month after month, to use whenever you need it around town.

With the NETGEAR Around Town Mobile Hotspot (AirCard® AC778AT), you can easily connect up to 10 laptops, tablets, smartphones, digital cameras, gaming consoles, or other WiFi-enabled devices. The smart, powerful NETGEAR Around Town Mobile Hotspot features 802.11n WiFi for range and performance, and shares a single secure mobile broadband connection with your friends and family.

“We’ve listened to the market and realized that people want a Mobile Internet service that is free of contracts and restrictions,” said David Henry, vice president of product management and engineering for the NETGEAR Retail Business Unit. “Enough with the use-it-or-lose-it data plans and long-term commitments. If you want mobile data that you can bank and use whenever you need it, wherever you want it, then NETGEAR Around Town Mobile Internet is right for you.”

The clean, compact design of the NETGEAR Around Town Mobile Hotspot includes a 1.77-inch color LCD screen that displays real-time information for monitoring connected WiFi devices, battery life, network name, data usage, and more, making this compact lightweight hotspot simple to set up and easy to navigate. This convenient monitoring feature means you see your NETGEAR Around Town Mobile Internet data usage at a glance so you can more effectively manage your budget and pay for data only when you need it. You’re also able to easily block unwanted devices from your NETGEAR Around Town network due to its secure WiFi encryption modes. There’s no software to install and you can connect additional devices with the push of a button as well as easily set up one-time guest WiFi access to your password-protected network.

You can conveniently manage NETGEAR Around Town Mobile Internet in multiple languages through the handy NETGEAR AirCard® App for iOS and Android™ smartphones and tablets and even your Kindle™.

Key Features

  • 4G LTE support
  • 802.11 b/g/n WiFi
  • Connects up to 10 WiFi devices
  • Color LCD display to monitor data usage, battery life, and network connections
  • Up to 12.5 hours of battery life on a single charge
  • Guest WiFi access
  • NETGEAR AirCard App compatible

Consumers on the go will love the small footprint of the NETGEAR Around Town mobile hotspot. About the size of a deck of cards, the hotspot can be easily packed away while traveling or carried in a purse, backpack, or even a pocket for easy accessibility.

Accessories for NETGEAR Around Town Mobile Internet

4G LTE Boosting Cradle with Ethernet (DC113A): The optional, compatible Boosting Cradle is a convenient place to dock your NETGEAR Around Town Mobile Internet hotspot for charging. The cradle has two built-in MIMO (multiple-input and multiple-output) antennas to boost your LTE signal for faster speeds and for more flexible indoor placement options. If you happen to be in an area with a weak connection, you can boost your LTE signal to get high-speed wireless Internet access that goes the distance.

The Boosting Cradle is also equipped with a Gigabit Ethernet port that you can use for connecting wired devices that aren’t WiFi-enabled, such as a desktop computer, laptop, printer, media server, network attached storage (NAS), or any other Ethernet-enabled device. You can even use the Ethernet port to connect a WiFi home router to the cradle if you need the full-fledged capabilities and features of a higher performance router, but still want Internet access through your hotspot’s mobile broadband connection. It can also serve as a failover connection for emergencies.

NETGEAR AirCard App: NETGEAR offers a complimentary app with multi-language support that enables you to conveniently manage the status, connection, and settings of your NETGEAR Around Town or other NETGEAR AirCard mobile hotspot from an iOS or Android™ smartphone or tablet. The NETGEAR AirCard App is available for download from the Apple® App Store, Google Play™, and Amazon Appstore.

Pricing and Availability

NETGEAR Around Town Mobile Internet is available for pre-order now in the U.S. at an MSRP of $199.99 including 1 GB of data. The 4G LTE Boosting Cradle with Ethernet is available at an MSRP of $69.99. You can purchase both devices in the U.S. via Amazon®. You can easily reload your device with additional data for $25.00/GB.

More Information

  • Find out more details on the free NETGEAR AirCard App for iOS and Android devices: www.netgear.com/AirCardApp
  • NETGEAR is hosting press, analysts and channel partners in an invitation-only suite at the Marriott Las Vegas from January 6-9.
  • See all CES-related news from NETGEAR: www.netgear.com/ces

About NETGEAR, Inc.

NETGEAR (NASDAQ: NTGR) is a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers. For consumers, the company makes high performance, dependable and easy to use home networking, storage and digital media products to connect people with the Internet and their content and devices. For businesses, NETGEAR provides networking, storage and security solutions without the cost and complexity of big IT. The company also supplies top service providers with retail-proven, mobile broadband solutions for their customers on the go. NETGEAR products are built on a variety of proven technologies such as wireless, Ethernet and Powerline, with a focus on reliability and ease-of-use. NETGEAR products are sold in approximately 45,000 retail locations around the globe, and through approximately 36,000 value-added resellers. The company's headquarters are in San Jose, Calif., with additional offices in over 25 countries. NETGEAR is an ENERGY STAR® partner. More information is available at www.NETGEAR.com or by calling (408) 907-8000. Connect with NETGEAR at twitter.com/NETGEAR and www.facebook.com/NETGEAR.

©2015 NETGEAR, Inc. NETGEAR, the NETGEAR logo, AirCard and NETGEAR Around Town are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of NETGEAR, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. Other brand names mentioned herein are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective holder(s). Information is subject to change without notice. All rights reserved.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for NETGEAR, Inc.: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Specifically, statements concerning NETGEAR's business and the expected performance characteristics, specifications, reliability, market acceptance, market growth, specific uses, user feedback and market position of NETGEAR's products and technology are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Safe Harbor. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the following: the actual price, performance and ease of use of NETGEAR's products may not meet the price, performance and ease of use requirements of customers; product performance may be adversely affected by real world operating conditions; failure of products may under certain circumstances cause permanent loss of end user data; new viruses or Internet threats may develop that challenge the effectiveness of security features in NETGEAR's products; the ability of NETGEAR to market and sell its products and technology; the impact and pricing of competing products; and the introduction of alternative technological solutions. Further information on potential risk factors that could affect NETGEAR and its business are detailed in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. NETGEAR undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.