PLDT Home WiFi Prepaid LTE-A Cat6 Modem Hands-on

PLDT Home will soon launch a new prepaid WiFi modem that supports the LTE-A Cat6, the all-new PLDT Home WiFi Prepaid LTE-A Cat6 Modem powered by Smart LTE. Check out our hands-on below.

Let’s start with the package, it contains the huge modem, a pair of external antennas, power adapter, LAN cable, and a manual. The SIM card is already pre-installed.

The modem is a Green Packet DH-725 manufactured by Green Packet Berhad (“Green Packet”), which is an internationally recognized telecommunications, media, and technology company. It was founded in Silicon Valley, California, in 2000 and subsequently listed on the Malaysian Stock Exchange in 2005.

The modem is significantly bigger than the previous prepaid WiFi modem. It has eight LED indicators for power, WiFi 2.4GHz, WiFi 5.0GHz, connection status, SIM card status, and signal strength.

At the back are the antenna connectors, LAN ports, power connector, and reset button.

The SIM card slot is at the top and is sealed by a sticker to let you know that the SIM card is not tampered or replaced when you receive the unit.

There are vents all around to keep the modem cool. The bottom is also elevated for extra ventilation at the bottom.

To get your modem ready for connection, just screw the antennas at the back, then plug to the power outlet. The LEDs will light up, and after a minute or so, it’s ready for connection. If your device supports the WiFi 5.0GHz band, you will see two SSIDs, just connect to either one and enter the default password that you can see at the label at the back of the modem.

From here, you’re already connected to the internet, but we highly suggest changing the modem and WiFi password by accessing the modem’s dashboard using your PC/laptop’s browser.

Compared to the previous Home WiFi LTE Modem, PLDT says that the new Home WiFi LTE-A Modem is faster and offers a more stable data transmission thanks to the high-gain external antenna. It uses Carrier Aggregation and combines frequency channels to power LTE to deliver faster speeds.

We tested the connection here in Bacoor, Cavite, and we’re getting a full signal with download speeds of 10 to 15 Mbps, which is not bad as it can still handle YouTube and Netflix streaming. Sometimes, we also get speeds of over 20Mbps. Upload speeds, on the other hand, are below 10Mbps. Do note that the quality of the connection depends on location, so your experience may be different from mine.

You can load the PLDT Home WiFi Prepaid LTE-A Cat6 Modem using the myPLDT Smart app or PayMaya by purchasing FamLoad packages: FamLoad 199 comes with 24 GB, FamLoad 599 with 80GB, FamLoad 999 with 130GB, and FamLoad 1499 with 200GB. You can also purchase load at PLDT, Smart and Sun Stores nationwide, sari-sari stores, convenience stores, and digital channels like Grab Pay.

The PLDT Home WiFi Prepaid LTE-A Cat6 Modem is priced at PHP 1,995 and comes with a free 10GB of data (valid for seven days) upon activation. It will be available in GMM areas only and can be ordered via the PLDT Home website starting the first week of August.