One of the in-demand products from PLDT recently is its Home WiFi 5G modem. It was so popular that PLDT has also restocked it in select SM Malls to meet demand and combat scalpers who want to sell it with a markup.

We were lucky to get our hands on a unit, and here are our first impressions of this much-talked-about modem:

PLDT Home WiFi 5G First Impressions: Design

Unlike PLDT’s previous modems, the Home WiFi 5G is shaped like a small tower, making itself look different from other 5G modems we have encountered. Save for the PLDT logo, you get three indicator LEDs in front.

At the back, you have only three ports: a DC jack for powering the modem, an Ethernet port, and a Telephone port. There’s a reset button in case you need to reboot the modem–and that’s all you get.

PLDT Home WiFi 5G First Impressions: Performance

For those not familiar, PLDT’s Home WiFi modems utilize Smart’s network. In the case of this one, it uses Smart’s 5G network, which should bring speeds that’s faster than PLDT’s older Home WiFi modems that utilize LTE connectivity.

Everyone’s curious about how fast the Home WiFi 5G modem can deliver, and the short answer is it depends on where you place it at home. From where we placed the modem at our residence in Taguig, we were getting download speeds of 89.8Mbps and upload speeds of 6.78Mbps. Those may not be 5G speeds, but remember that 5G availability will still depend on your area.

We are planning to take it around different areas and do tests to see which areas can benefit the most from its 5G internet speeds. To be safe, as long as your Smart signal is good, the Home WiFi 5G should give you decent performance for day-to-day use.

PLDT Home WiFi 5G First Impressions: Initial verdict

After using it for a week, we understand why people are looking for the Home WiFi 5G: at just Php 1.5k, it is one of the most affordable home solutions that you can get with 5G connectivity. The overall performance may vary depending on the area, but this offering from PLDT is promising in making 5G more accessible to everyone.

The PLDT Home WiFi 5G is priced at Php 1,495 and is available at authorized PLDT stores nationwide and their official Lazada and Shopee stores.