Telco giant Telstra (ASX: TLS) launched today its Telstra Ultimate Mobile Wi-Fi – a battery-powered device that shares Next G mobile broadband connectivity with up to five devices simultaneously.

The Telstra Ultimate Mobile Wi-Fi provides download speeds ranging from 1.1Mbps to 20Mbps in Ultimate coverage areas which include Australia’s capital city CBDs and associated airports, selected metropolitan hubs and more than 100 regional centres.

Business customers will be able to purchase the device from today while a BigPond version will go on sale for consumers on 19 July.

Warwick Bray, Executive Director, Telstra Mobile Products said “Consumer customers will be able to use the BigPond Ultimate Mobile Wi-Fi device in Ultimate coverage areas to serve up high bandwidth content such as video and music to multiple devices simultaneously.

The Telstra Ultimate Mobile Wi-Fi device is the world’s first commercial battery-powered 3G hotspot to use advanced dual channel HSPA+ technology which is available exclusively in Australia on the Telstra Next G network – Australia’s fastest mobile broadband network.

The device sports a sleek black design and a large LED display which provides information such as signal strength, number of devices connected and battery level at a glance. It is the first 3G hotspot in Australia to support Wi-Fi standard N connectivity for fast Wi-Fi throughput. It includes a handy audio alert that lets owners know when devices connect and disconnect from the Wi-Fi network, while a web-based control portal allows for the adjustment of network security and Wi-Fi range settings from an internet browser.

The Telstra Ultimate Mobile Wi-Fi is available from 21 June and business customers can purchase the device on a range of Telstra Mobile Broadband plans including for $0 upfront on $49 plan that includes 7GB of data each month over 24 months (minimum total cost $1,176),

The BigPond Ultimate Mobile Wi-Fi is available from 19 July for $49 (after device rebate) on a range of 24 month BigPond Mobile Broadband plans - including on a $39.95 per month plan with 1GB of data each month over 24 months (min cost $1,007.80).