Globe Telecom beat rival Smart/PLDT as well as other telcos in Southeast Asia (SEA) in offering the first ever commercially available 5G service!
They call it Globe at Home Air Fiber 5G, a fixed wireless setup for homes that offers “fiber-like” speeds of up to 100 Megabits per second (Mbps). It uses the Huawei 5G CPE Pro router to connect to Globe’s 5G network then provide ultra-fast internet connectivity via a Wi-Fi network for your devices.
Huawei 5G CPE Pro router
Upon launching, the 5G service is available in three areas in the Philippines – Pasig, Cavite, and Bulacan. However, availability is still spotty since the company’s 5G roll-out is still on-going.
There are three monthly postpaid plans available for Globe at Home Air Fiber 5G: ₱1,899 for up to 20 Mbps, ₱2,499 for up to 50 Mbps, and ₱2,899 for up to 100 Mbps. All three plans come with 2 Terabytes of data-cap.
The Globe at Home Air Fiber 5G service will be available starting next month, July 2019.
| Plan/Price | Speed | Data Cap |
|---|---|---|
| ₱1,899 | 20 Mbps | 2 TB |
| ₱2,499 | 50 Mbps | 2 TB |
| ₱2,899 | 100 Mbps | 2 TB |
Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu said, “Globe at Home Air Fiber 5G makes use of fixed location wireless radios instead of fiber optic cables.” This enables the company to bypass the deployment of more fiber-optic cables that requires a lot of permits from LGUs.
Meanwhile, there’s no word yet on when the company will offer direct 5G network access to mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.
5G is the next generation of cellular connectivity after the current 4G LTE. It provides faster speeds and lower latency that will enable more powerful AI applications including autonomous driving. One of its biggest disadvantages is the need for multiple cell-sites in a city to provide the same coverage as 4G networks.
