Following its announcement last December, Globe has formally made its Home 5G WiFi official, giving us a closer look at its new service that aims to compete with other Home 5G WiFi offerings in the Philippines.
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After the launch, we interviewed Globe Chief Commercial Officer Darius Delgado to learn more about their latest offering. Here are the things we learned about the Globe at Home 5G WiFi beyond what was initially announced back in December:
They partnered with a different modem provider. Instead of going for the usual modem manufacturers, Globe partnered with Rainx, a South Africa-based company known for its aesthetically pleasing 5G WiFi modems. That also explains why there’s a “The 101” branding on the Globe at Home 5G WiFi modems–it is one of the offerings of Rainx.
Described as a smart modem, The 101 has a touchscreen display right on the middle of the modem’s faceplate. The screen is intuitive, and has features like connect via QR code, a built-in speedtest feature, signal strength monitoring, and tap to support. With the latter, you can do the troubleshooting through the modem itself, and Rainx’s vast network will help you out.
It can be a work of art. One of the unique features of The 101 is that you can place different skins to make the modem more aesthetically pleasing. While Rainx themselves offer over 100 skin options, Globe wants to promote the work of Filipino artists for its modems. Among those we saw during the event are works by National Artists Larry Alcala, Vicente Manansala, Abdulmari, and Botong Francisco.
There’s a mesh extender too. We spotted at the event a mesh extender version called the 101 Xtender that’s meant to extend the coverage of what Globe at Home 5G WiFi has to offer. Both Delgado and Rainx Founder Brandon Leigh were tight lipped on whether they will make it available in the Philippines, but with the push for 5G we hope they also bring it to our shores. From what we were told, you can daisy chain up to 4 of the 101 Xtender to the 101 WiFi modem for a full mesh experience.
It is exclusively prepaid. Delgado told us that they don’t find the need to offer a postpaid version of Globe at Home 5G WiFi because paying for the data packs are more convenient than ever with online payment services like GCash.
There will be more data packages soon. Aside from the Php 899 package that gives you 250GB 5G data for 30 days, Globe also has other packages. These include Php 299 for 75GB data for 7 days and Php 1299 for 500GB data for 30 days. And for those asking if there will be an unlimited data packs, Delgado did confirm to us that they plan to release that later this year, making the Globe at Home 5G WiFi a solid offering for those who need a backup connection—and have reliable 5G connectivity in their area.
There’s a reason for the 7-day money back guarantee. Delgado explained to us that the 7 day money back guarantee is more than just marketing—its their way of ensuring that those buying the Globe at Home 5G WiFi will have the best possible 5G performance (based on our tests at the event, we were getting speeds as fast as 610Mbps).
While the 5G WiFi modems can support 4G, Leigh explained that they want to keep the modem to support only 5G for the best possible customer experience.
It has a 5km operating radius. Another unique appeal of the Globe at Home 5G WiFi is that you can use it outside your house—as long as you’re within Globe’s prescribed 5km radius of its cell towers. Just like the rationale behind their 7-day money back guarantee, Globe wants to make sure that you’re getting true 5G experience with it.
It’s available at Globe Stores. If you’re interested to get one, you can purchase the Globe at Home 5G WiFi at Globe stores nationwide—and soon online and via the GlobeOne App. Those interested can scan the QR code below:
