By Patrick Avenell

Telstra has this morning unveiled Australia’s first dedicated 4G mobile Wi-Fi hotspot. This is Australia’s fourth 4G device, after the Telstra USB 4G dongle, the HTC Velocity 4G smartphone and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 4G tablet.

There are two 4G Wi-Fi hotspots available from Telstra: the business Mobile (out now) and the consumer BigPond Mobile (launching on 27 March 2012). Both offer users connection to Telstra’s nascent 4G network for up to five devices over Wi-Fi. These devices could be notebook and desktop PCs, smartphones, tablets (including the new iPad) and connected gaming devices.

Telstra’s 4G coverage area includes all capital city CBDs and more than 80 regional and metropolitan areas, according to the media release. When not in a 4G coverage area, the device will automatically connect to Telstra’s 3G network, which is broadly considered the best of the three major telcos.

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Here’s Telstra Mobile director Anthea Roberts:

“Australians now take a range of Wi-Fi enabled devices with them when they’re outside the home and office and for many of our customers the Telstra Mobile Wi-Fi is the 4G product they’ve been waiting for,” she said “It gives them the chance to bring Australia’s fastest mobile internet speed to their existing tablets, laptops, portable games consoles and smartphones.

“The introduction of the Telstra Mobile Wi-Fi 4G  also means more people can take advantage of the improved web responsiveness available on 4G which makes real-time applications like video conferencing, internet gaming and cloud-hosted streaming services work better with less buffering and fewer interruptions.”

The device itself has an LED screen on a black background with a brushed silver trim. Telstra quotes a weight of 100 grams and a battery life of four hours usage and 100 hours standby.

The consumer model will be available on a range of 24-month plans, with Telstra suggesting in its media release the $59.95 per month option, with a $49 upfront cost, for 8GB of monthly data. The minimum cost of this plan is $1,487.80.

For business customers, Telstra is promoting the $49.95 per month plan, with $0 upfront, for 8GB of monthly data. This plan has a minimum spend of $1,198.80.

Telstra's new 4G mobile hotspot.