The Cradlepoint W1850 5G adapter is a 5G device, so it uses the NEW 5G LTE as its internet connection. Before Most Vendors have come out with their first 5G products, Cradlepoint is rolling out its second generation. And these are of clean-slate-designed!
The W1850 Series is an enterprise-class, dual-connectivity 5G and LTE wireless adapter. It can be paired with a Cradlepoint router in “captive modem mode” to provide virtual single-end-point deployment, monitoring, and control. Or, it can connect to a third-party router via an Ethernet connection to provide an instant WAN upgrade. They are purpose-built for the new high-performance low to mid-band 5G spectrum. To address the tradeoff of lower propagation, the W-Series can be placed separately from the router for optimal signal reception. Unlike the R1900, the W1850 is built for indoor use.
Built to support the full speed and capabilities of 5G, the W1850 is among the first to utilize Cradlepoint’s second-generation 5G architecture. It supports nationwide coverage (low-band) and capacity (mid-band) networks at up to 1Gbps, as well as gigabit LTE. Like all Cradlepoint appliances, it is powered by the Cradlepoint NetCloud Service. It delivers full-throttle 5G speeds. It also comes with enterprise-class security and SASE support, IoT connectivity with Bluetooth, and edge computing for Microsoft Azure IoT Central or AWS Greengrass.
What is a router, exactly?
Basically, a router does one simple thing – connect two or more devices to the same network. It can be used for mainline or back-up connectivity. A basic home router can simply inter-connect the devices within your home or office and nothing else. For instance, if you want to print a photo from your smartphone to your home printer, all you have to do is connect the two devices to the router’s wireless hotspot.
That said, routers can hook your devices to all sorts of networks. They can be your own little home network (LAN), in which case your router is simply inter-connecting your devices so that they can talk to each other. For example, you can connect your laptop and smart TV to the home WiFi network created by your router. In addition, you can connect to your mobile operator’s network with or without cables.
But the W1850 is more than just a home router, right?
Oh yes. For starters, LTE routers like the W1850 contain a built-in LTE broadband modem. Plus, they enable local Wi-Fi and/or Ethernet devices to share the LTE connection.
They can also have some additional features such as firewall, layer 7 filters, DHCP server, and advanced QoS.
Performance of the Cradlepoint W1850
The W1850’s WAN Connectivity is 5G and LTE (CAT20) wireline. It has an embedded 5G Modem with 4 x SMA cellular antenna connectors. It also has 2 2.5 GbE RJ45 (LAN/WAN switchable) ethernet ports. In addition, it has 1 USB 2.0 Type A (output 5V, 500 mA, 2.5W)and 1 RJ45 Console interface. The W1850 pushes 2 Gbps of data in IP Passthrough mode, as well as in Standard NAT and Captive Modem modes.
NetCloud IoT Package
The Cradlepoint W1850 is sold as a package with a cloud-based plan called NetCloud. It is a secure, cloud-based networking plan built for Internet of Things and machine-to-machine uses. It’s similar to the bundles that firewalls often come with. This cloud-based service adds greatly to the features and capabilities of your router. For example, NetCloud offers secure, cloud-based management and control of your W1850. Netcloud is offered in three and five-year software subscriptions that include 24×7 support.
In conclusion, if you need to provide wired networking and powerful Wi-Fi to an entire remote office, or you need a second dedicated cellular modem for instant failover or load-balancing – the Cradlepoint W1850 might be worth a look. And, if you have any further questions about the W1850, Wi-Fi, LTE, or anything else Cradlepoint-related, please email us or call Corporate Armor at 877-449-0458. Thanks for reading!
Cradlepoint W1850 Highlights
| Up to 4.14 Gbps Peak Downlink Rates |
| Up to 660 Mbps Peak Uplink Rates |
| 4×4 MIMO |
| Passive GNSS (multiplex with DIV/MIMO2 antenna ports) GPS |