Top Global 3G Mobile Router MB6800

In Brief

If you wish the world were one big hotspot, the Top Global 3G Mobile Router is for you. The MB6800 ($349) looks and feels like a regular 802.11g Wi-Fi router, except that it also has both a PC Card slot and a USB port for connecting 3G cell data cards and USB adapters. What this means is that you can turn that 3G broadband subscription into a Wi-Fi hotspot anywhere you can find a power source. Mobile routers are a great way to provide shared wireless Internet access in moving vehicles like RV, buses and car pools, as well as anywhere regular broadband connections or hotspots are not available. They can also extend 3G Internet access to devices that would otherwise not be able to accept 3G adapters, like Wi-Fi-equipped PDAs and VoIP phones.

The concept is not new, we've reviewed the Kyocera KR1 and Junxion Box in the past, and mobile Wi-Fi routers are available from companies like D-Link and Linksys, but most are tied to specific 3G technologies, such as EV-DO or UMTS/HSDPA, or specific carriers, such as Sprint. The Top Global MB6800 is the first we've seen that accepts both PC Cards and USB adapters from all three major 3G carriers (AT&T, Sprint and Verizon), giving you total flexibility to upgrade cards or change carriers at any time. You can even subscribe to multiple carriers, and swap out cards depending on coverage as you roam around the country. Have a 3G ExpressCard? You can use those too, with a PC Card adapter.

Setting up the router is straightforward, no driver or software installation for your card or USB adapter is needed, although you'll have to be sure it is already activated and ready to use. The Top Global Web utility is easy to navigate, and will be familiar to any Wi-Fi router user. It has all the routing features you'd expect, and can be set to only dial up when access is requested by a client computer, to minimize connect time. Since the MB6800 has a wired WAN port as well, you can also use a 3G card as a fail-over system for wired broadband, only having it kick in if your wired connection is down. Performance is similar to what you'd get by putting your 3G card directly into a computer, although it will be less if shared, of course.

At $399 list, the MB6800 is not cheap, but still relatively inexpensive compared to the cost of a 3G broadband contract ($50-$80 per month), and far more versatile than technology or carrier-specific models that typcally cost about $200. For company booths at trade shows, remote workgroups, or even the family RV, a mobile Wi-Fi router can make a lot of sense.

In Depth

The MB6800 looks like any other Wi-Fi router from the front, with a row of indicator lights. The tell-tale difference is a WWAN light that turns green when there is a successful 3G card connection.

The rear has the usual 4-port Ethernet switch and WAN port found on most Wi-Fi routers, as well as a USB port for attaching 3G USB adapters like the Sprint Novatel U720 and Verizon Novatel USB720 EV-DO Rev. A models.

PC Cards (and ExpressCards with PC Card adapters), go into the slot on the side of the router.

Setup went quickly, although not entirely smoothly, with our Verizon Novatel V620 EV-DO card, one of the many supported cards on Top Global's list. You first have to connect to the router's Web utility using a an Ethernet cable between the router and your computer, then start the setup wizard. You'll be prompted to setup your LAN and Wi-Fi nets, including Wi-Fi encryption, although the more secure WPA2 protocol is not supported, only WEP and WPA-PSK.

Next comes 3G setup, which should be straightforward. However, when we got to this screen, we were told we had no card inserted, despite repeatedly pushing it in firmly. Not until we unplugged and restarted the router, then ran the wizard again, did it appear. So be sure to insert your card before powering up the router. After that, the correct settings were automatically determined for our EV-DO card (which does not require a username or password), and the router connected to the Internet successfully on the first try. UMTS/HSDPA card users will need to enter their username and password.

Note that you can choose from three different connection modes for your 3G card: automatic, dial-on-demand, and manual. In automatic mode, it will dial up whenever the router is powered on. In on-demand mode, it will dial up when a request for Internet access comes through from the LAN, and disconnect a specified time after the last request. In manual mode, you can dial-up from the Web utility, or using Windows client software. The first two are the easiest to use, depending on your circumstances. Just be aware of your total connect time and data throughput, some providers have been cracking down on what they consider to be excessive usage in so-called "unlimited" accounts. For truly heavy usage, you may need to get a special business account from your carrier.

To test performance, we compared throughput with the card directly inserted into our laptop, to throughput with the card in the router and using a Wi-Fi connection between the router and our laptop. We found no significant difference in upload or download speeds (using SpeedTest.net) for a single Wi-Fi user. We also found no significant difference between unencrypted Wi-Fi and WPA Wi-Fi throughput. (Typical 3G connection speeds of 500Kbps to 1Mbps are much lower than the Wi-Fi bandwidth of 54Mbps, so Wi-Fi is not the limiting factor.) With two or more Wi-Fi users sharing the 3G connection, throughput obviously goes down, although the degree will depend on how many simultaneous packets are being sent/received. We tested in a location with a 3- to 4-bar EV-DO signal, although we would expect similar conclusions with a 5-bar signal. A typical 500-to-1Mbps 3G download rate should be fast enough to share between two to four computers, as long as they aren't all doing simultaneous bandwidth-intensive tasks like viewing streaming video.

Despite setting the router to stay connected whenever powered on, we did lose connection a few times, so we delved deeper into the manual and found a Keepalive setting that automatically redials after a set interval, then resets the modem or reboots the router if redialling doesn't work. Keepalive is automatically disabled in dial-on-demand or manual modes, however, so if your modem or router needs rebooting in those modes, you'll need to do it manually.

In terms of Wi-Fi and routing features, the Top Global MB6800 covers all the standard bases, from VPN passthrough and MAC address filtering to port forwarding, DMZ and Dynamic DNS support. It also has some useful extras, such as the ability to disallow communication between connected devices, providing better hotspot security in public situations. You can also set up permanent IP addresses for specific clients, making it easier to maintain network printers, servers and storage devices. But we sorely missed WPA2 encryption support, as well as the automatic channel selection feature found in most Wi-Fi routers, which helps you avoid interference from neighboring Wi-Fi nets. Automatic channel selection is especially useful for mobile routers that frequently change location.

While we had a few quibbles, overall the Top Global MB6800 was far and away the best mobile router we've tested. It has support for almost all major 3G cards and carriers, easy setup, very good Wi-Fi and routing features, and flexible dialing modes that let you maintain an ever-present connection or just dial up on demand, depending on your needs.