My ultra­-fast wireless Internet experience with Ultera

Last month I was lucky to be invited to witness the launch of PLDT HOME Bro’s newest addition to its family, the PLDT HOME Bro Ultera. I’m curious how fast is this Ultera thing after seeing a lot of tweets about #SpeedYouCantBeat, that’s why I graced the event with much excitement. I wanna see for myself if his is indeed really fast.

I arrived late—to be precise—an hour late, in the event. Good thing the event didn’t start yet and there’s a dinner buffet in the venue. I haven’t been attending press and blog events for a year now and I thought I’ll just be alone sitting in the corner, waiting for the event to end. Good thing, Hannah was also there and we were able to chat after not seeing each other for many years!

While waiting for the event to start, I connected to Home Bro Ultera via WiFi and tried downloading a 5MB zip file from my server, and I was able to download it in less than 7 seconds. I think it’s undeniably fast for wireless internet.

After an hour, the launch of PLDT Home Bro Ultera finally started. The event was hosted by Sam YG & Andi Manzano­Reyes. There were multiple speed tests that were shown in the event to show that Ultera is indeed fast.

Ariel Fermin, PLDT executive vice president and head of PLDT HOME business introduced the PLDT Home Bro Ultera and its features and why it’s different from their other internet service offers. Ultera is fast because it is the country’s first foray in TD­LTE technology, an innovation that uses a dedicated network with an allocated bandwidth, apart from one used by mobile phones or pocket Wifi modems.

“The launch of PLDT HOME Bro Ultera is part of our commitment to continuously develop broadband connectivity in the country. Aside from the ongoing roll­out and enhancement of PLDT HOME Fibr and PLDT HOME DSL, the addition of PLDT HOME Bro Ultera to the PLDT HOME roster of services means that we intend to serve more areas, especially those unreached by wired technology,” said Ariel Fermin, PLDT executive vice president and head of PLDT HOME business.

Ava Espanola, the PLDT assistant vice president and head of HOME Fixed Wireless Solutions, said, “PLDT HOME Bro Ultera is the perfect fit for digitally active families. It allows for continuous family fun and bonding whether it’s through social media, online streaming, or downloading.”

PLDT HOME Bro Ultera is a TD­LTE­powered (Time­Division Duplex­Long Term Evolution) high­speed wireless Internet connection for the home offering speeds of up to 10 Mbps. It is currently available in three plans: Ultera Basic, with speeds of up to 3 Mbps; Ultera Max, which reaches up to 5 Mbps; and the top of the line Ultera Pro, which delivers speeds of up to 10 Mbps.

It’s also announcened that PLDT HOME Bro Ultera comes with special add­on services that all members of the family will enjoy. You can enjoy over hundreds of blockbuster flicks from Clickplay, and thousands of episodes of Asianovelas and Tagalized animes from MyPinoyTV. Music lovers in the family can access thousands of music hits from Spinnr (powered by SMART Music) while kids and kids­at­heart can enjoy the latest games from EA Games.

The launch of PLDT HOME Bro Ultera also coincides with the launch of the brand’s new ambassadors— the Teng siblings, specifically brothers Jeric and Jeron, and sister Almira. A TV ad with the Teng siblings was also shown during the event.

After the event, they gave away 3 iPad Minis and my good friend Hannah was lucky enough to receive one. Congrats Hannah!

Visit pldthome.com/homebro to know more about PLDT Home Bro Ultera. You can also follow PLDT on Twitter (https://twitter.com/PLDTHome) and on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/PLDTHome).

More pictures of the event here: