Globe At Home Air Hands-on

Early this year, Globe launched the Globe At Home Air, a wireless broadband internet service that you can install yourself. I was able to upgrade my current wireless internet to this one yesterday, so you’re interested in getting one as well then check out my hands-on below.

I’m a Globe At Home wireless internet subscriber for about two years now, and my last plan was the 10 Mbps, 500GB for PHP 1,599USD 27INR 2,310EUR 26CNY 198 a month. I’ve been wanting to upgrade for almost a year and was glad that they introduced the Globe At Home Air Fiber 5G in July.

Unfortunately, it’s not available in my area as of the moment, so I decided to settle for the Globe At Home Air with 20 Mbps speed with 600GB data for PHP 1,699USD 29INR 2,454EUR 28CNY 211 a month. That’s an extra 10 Mbps speed and 100GB of data for an additional PHP 100USD 2INR 144EUR 2CNY 12 from my current plan which is not bad.

Although new subscribers can apply and get it directly from select Globe stores, it’s a different process when you’re upgrading, like in my case. I called customer service to check if I’m eligible, and they asked for 48 hours to check if my area is serviceable. I immediately got an update after a day, and an on-site visit was scheduled the next day to upgrade my modem.

What they offered before was the Huawei B315 4G Router – the white one with Globe’s branding on the front. So they replaced it with the newer and better-looking B525 model – black with gold trim in the middle). There’s no Globe branding, which is better! They just used the old SIM card that’s tied to my old account and told me that to wait for 24 hours before my new plan is activated. And since this is an upgrade, I didn’t get the freebies like the free subscription to DisneyLife, Fox+, and HOOQ. I got my free 6 months of DisneyLife, Fox+, and HOOQ a day later.

The Huawei B525 model still supports the existing external antenna, so you have the option to use it if it helps your connection. If you decide to move to a different location, you don’t have to worry about the antenna and just bring the modem with you. Just place it in an area where it’s getting a good signal like near the window. The technician even joked that you could put it in the car as long as you have somewhere to plug it in.

One of the first things I noticed about the new router is that it broadcasts two SSIDs. Apparently, it uses the WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, 2.4 GHz & 5 GHz dual-band protocol, unlike the B315 that uses 802.11 b/g/n. The user login still sports the same interface and now shows LTE+ in the network status.

So far, the service and the modem are working well, and I’ve been getting speeds of 15 – 20Mbps download, and 10 – 12 Mbps upload, but that could vary depending on your area. Playing Mobile Legends in this connection is not a problem as ping levels manage to stay green. I don’t download a lot of files, and I mostly use the internet for work and entertainment like streaming on YouTube, Netflix, and Spotify, so 600GB is more than enough.

Do I recommend this? Yes, but as a last resort, like in my case where wired internet is not available, or as a secondary internet connection. We’re even considering getting one for the office. But if you can wait for the 5G plans, I recommend getting that one instead.

ALSO READ: 5 things to consider before getting a wireless broadband internet