Globe Telecom Archives - MyCebu.ph: Cebu News & Features

4 min read

GCash is poised to lead the future of payments in the Philippines following the recent joint venture of Ant Financial, Globe Telecom, and Ayala Corporation. The collaboration is seen to…

GCash is poised to lead the future of payments in the Philippines following the recent joint venture of Ant Financial, Globe Telecom, and Ayala Corporation. The collaboration is seen to speed up the country’s digitization to make the lives of Filipinos much easier.

Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group, attended an event that marked the opening of the Philippine retail industry to electronic payments through GCash. Ma was joined by Ant Financial Services Group CEO Eric Jing, Ayala Corporation President and COO Fernando Zobel de Ayala, Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu, Ayala Land President and CEO Bobby Dy, and Mynt President and CEO Anthony Thomas.

GCash QR code

“Imagine a day when you can shop and buy cinema, bus and train tickets with a simple scan of your personal GCash QR code in your smart phone. The convenient daily life 520 million Alipay users are enjoying will soon be realized in the Philippines. In the past months, Ant Financial has worked closely with GCash product of Mynt, as we are dedicated to bringing digital financial services to our friends in the Philippines,” Jing said.

“We are thrilled to mark this special milestone with Mr. Jack Ma, and Mr. Eric Jing of Ant Financial — it goes without saying that we are very pleased to partner with Ant Financial, given their level of experience and expertise in this field,” said Zobel de Ayala. “We look forward to innovating and evolving with the Filipino consumer, together. This day marks a special moment in the history of technology and payments in the Philippines — this launches the first broad application of such technology, and marks GCash as the leader in this space.”

Cu said the partnership is now bearing fruit. “We are happy to share the initial successes that will disrupt payment methods in the Philippines. In this country, only 5% of the population have credit cards, leaving almost everybody to carry cash all the time to pay for something. Today, we are introducing the 3rd method of payment – GCash. We found the right partner and the right time to really scale up the business and change the way we use financial services.”

QR CODE PAYMENTS. Alibaba Founder and Executive Chairman Jack Ma (center, left) joins GCat, the GCash Mascot, as it shows a sample of the QR code that is set to change the landscape of payments in the country. Together with him are (from left) Mynt President and CEO Anthony Thomas, Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu, Ant Financial Services Group CEO Eric Jing, Ayala Corporation President and COO Fernando Zobel de Ayala, Ayala Land President and CEO Bobby Dy, and Ant Financial SVP and Head of International Operations Douglas Feagin.

Make digital preferred choice

“Now that more people are using data on their smartphones, the time is ripe to enable digital payments using the smartphone and let this go mainstream. Our challenge today is to make digital payments the preferred choice among our customers instead of cash or credit cards,” he added.

Through GCash, particularly the scan to pay feature of the GCash App, Filipinos can now experience the convenient cashless lifestyle.

The new payment option is a game changer for both consumers and merchants. It allows customers to pay for goods and services by simply using their smartphones to scan QR codes displayed by merchants and establishments.

Benefits for business owners

Business owners also benefit from not having to install expensive machines as they are provided with a QR code sticker which buyers can scan to pay. Customers pay the exact amount, removing the need for coins or change. GCash sees this solution working not just for organized trade but even for the ambulant vendors.

Joining GCash in showcasing the future of payments in the Philippines is Ayala Malls. Known as a retail innovator, Ayala Malls is a perfect catapult for GCash to reach thousands of consumers while also improving the customer experience for Ayala Malls shoppers. Glorietta is the first Ayala Mall to offer the GCash payment system in many of its shops and restaurants, as well as its cinemas.

GCash will be rolled out very soon to other Ayala Malls such as Greenbelt, TriNoma, Market! Market!, Alabang Town Center, Ayala Center Cebu, Bonifacio High Street, UP Town Center, Ayala Malls The 30th, Ayala Malls Vertis North, and Ayala Malls South Park. With the GCash scan to pay feature, Ayala Malls customers can catch up with the cashless experience of shoppers in other countries.

GCash is an internationally-acclaimed mobile wallet service of Mynt which can be used to buy load, pay bills, send money, and pay for goods and services whether online or offline. (Press Release)

No Comments

2 min read

Tech

50% of data traffic to come from LTE network by yearend: Globe

Press Release

October 5, 2017 11:49 am October 5, 2017

2 min read

No Comments

2 min read

With the steady expansion of the company’s LTE coverage and capacities to improve customers’ mobile experience, Globe Telecom expects around 50% of its mobile data traffic to come from LTE…

With the steady expansion of the company’s LTE coverage and capacities to improve customers’ mobile experience, Globe Telecom expects around 50% of its mobile data traffic to come from LTE network by the end of the year.

Mobile data traffic in the first six months of the year soared 85% to 280 petabytes (PB) from 151 PB in the first six months of last year, amid steady increase in smartphone penetration, currently estimated at around 67% of total mobile subscribers.

Currently, about 43% of the company’s data traffic comes from its LTE network. The company is on an aggressive deployment of LTE sites following its commitment to improve the mobile internet experience in the country, said Joel Agustin, Globe Senior Vice President for Program Governance, Network Technical Group.

Globe LTE sites

Globe now has close to 5,000 LTE sites all over the country, using the 700 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz frequencies. It targets to increase this by more than 600 sites by the end of the year, Agustin said.

“Over the years, Globe has been continuously upgrading its network infrastructure and capacities to make us future-ready in anticipation of our customers’ bandwidth requirement. As our LTE network is steadily becoming more and more pervasive, more and more people transacting in LTE will have improve mobile data experience compared to 3G,” Agustin said.

According to him, a significant number of Globe customers are on LTE devices but are using 3G SIMs while many others are using LTE SIMs but are on 3G devices.

Switch to LTE SIM

“We want to encourage our customers especially those that are already using LTE devices to migrate to the LTE network by switching to a LTE SIM for better mobile experience,” he added. Since January this year, Globe has already migrated around 900,000 of customers using LTE devices but were still using a 3G SIM, he said.

He emphasized that migration to LTE network spells a big difference in terms of customer experience as the network provides superior streaming of multi-media content even as they are on the go. The company’s LTE sites are located mostly in Metro Manila and other highly-populated areas, where majority of customers using LTE-based handsets are located.

No Comments

3 min read

Tech

Globe fires up PH 1st 700 MHz cell site; logs speeds ranging from 60 to 100 Mbps

Press Release

June 8, 2016 1:37 pm June 8, 2016

3 min read

No Comments

3 min read

Globe Telecom fired up over the weekend the country’s first cell site that uses the 700 megahertz spectrum, generating speeds that range between 60-100 Mbps. The company expects to deliver…

Globe Telecom fired up over the weekend the country’s first cell site that uses the 700 megahertz spectrum, generating speeds that range between 60-100 Mbps. The company expects to deliver performance improvements as it completes ongoing optimization.

The move came less than a week after Globe acquired half of San Miguel Corp.’s telecommunication assets that included the 700 MHz frequency.

700 MHz cell sites rollout

According to Joel Agustin, Globe senior vice president for program governance, Network Technical Group, the first 700 MHz cell site is located near Hardin ng Bougainvillea in UP Diliman, Quezon City. It benefits customers within a 2.2 kilometers radius from the cell tower.

So far, there are almost a hundred customers in the area using devices compatible with the LTE 700 MHz band experiencing the value of the technology. Officials of the National Telecommunications Commission, led by Deputy Commissioner Edgardo Cabarios inspected the site last Monday, June 6.

Agustin said the company plans to initially roll out 200 sites using this particular frequency. “The intention is that the first batch of the 200 sites we plan to roll out will be in areas where connectivity matters most to our customers as well as in locations with high convergence of users like here in the National Capital Region,” he said.

NEW CELL SITE. Photo shows the 700MHz antenna, 2.5 meters in height, mounted on a Globe cell site in Diliman, Quezon City.

Decongestion of other frequencies

Globe plans to activate all 200 sites progressively, which means that more and more customers will get to experience the benefits of the 700 MHz moving forward. Users of phones that are not compatible with LTE are also expected to benefit from the deployment of 700 MHz cell sites as this will lead to decongestion of users on other frequencies.

The 700 MHz frequency is considered a key in providing faster internet speeds in the country as it can easily penetrate buildings and walls and has greater coverage with fewer infrastructures needed compared to frequencies on higher bands. Its qualities make it the most valuable frequency range for 4G/LTE technology.

Agustin emphasized that use of the 700 MHz bodes well with the company’s capacity enhancement initiative amid increasing demand for bandwidth on growing customers’ propensity for multi-media content.

Better coverage

“About 70% to 80% of our customers are transacting data indoors and we need the 700 MHz spectrum to provide better coverage and stable connectivity inside their homes. Indoor connectivity is one issue that the 700 MHz spectrum addresses,” he said.

Agustin further emphasized that using the 700 MHz would allow the deployment of a high-capacity LTE-based wireless and fixed broadband network in rural areas, supporting the company’s initiative of expanding internet reach to many Filipinos. “Using low-frequency 700 MHz enables mobile signals to travel farther, which, in turn, will enable the company to significantly improve the coverage of its broadband services in rural areas and allow our customers in those locations to gain internet access,” he added.

More and more devices are supporting the 700MHz that now include Samsung’s S6 Edge+, Note 5, S7, S7 Edge, and J5 2016. (Press release)

No Comments

4 min read

Brand Partnership Tech

Globe Telecom expands network capacities to hit demand for data

MyCebu Partners

September 11, 2015 3:15 pm September 11, 2015

4 min read

No Comments

4 min read

Globe Telecom is continuing to invest aggressively in building on its capacities in a bid to future-proof its network amid continuing adoption of smartphone use among its customers.

“As more and more of our customers shift to a digital lifestyle, Globe is continuing to make data-driven capital investments to provide increased network capacities and enhance customer satisfaction. This will build capacities of our network to handle the explosive growth of data traffic of our customers,” said Globe President & CEO Ernest Cu.

Cu noted robust customer uptake in the first half of the year as Globe continues to be the network of choice for smartphone users, the company said.

Infrastructure investments

Globe capital expenditure in the first half of the year stood at P11.4 billion, bulk of which were allocated for data-related projects that include investments for the company’s broadband network, capacities for wireless data, LTE, domestic and international transmission facilities. A significant portion of the company’s capex for the year were also allotted for its IT infrastructure as Globe continues to create platform for new products as well as to build on its IT transmission initiatives, said Cu.

“These investments are intended to provide our customers with holistic digital experience. We expect growth in smartphone use to continue and that presents a very good opportunity for us moving forward. Globe has committed itself out to building on its capacities to ensure that the data requirement of our customers continues to be served,” said Cu, noting that more than a third of Globe mobile customers are using smartphones.

Quality of service

According to Cu, the quality of service from the Globe network has driven the company’s underlying growth in broadband mobile data and strengthened its position as the choice of network for smartphone users in the Philippines.

Globe solidified its leadership in mobile data business after it registered in the January-June period P9.5 billion in mobile browsing and other data revenues, a 53% growth from previous year’s level of P6.2 billion in the first six months of the year. This achievement brought the contribution of mobile data revenues to total mobile revenues by 23% as of 1st half of 2015, coming from 16% the previous year.

With mobile data business growing at a rapid pace, data users from overall Globe mobile customer base have grown to 37% during the same period, a substantial increase from previous year’s 17%. Wireless data traffic on the Globe network has also increased by 82% year-on-year with the growing number of smartphone users and applications that leverage the internet.

Partnerships

Aside from the growing number of smartphone users in the Globe network, sustained emergence of various products and services that include OTT applications, music, video streaming, gaming and social media that leverage the internet and data also provided support for the company’s mobile data business.

“Through various partnerships with global digital giants, we have built a portfolio of products and services that provide relevant content to fit our customers’ digital lifestyle. We also continue to capitalize on these partnerships to further seed data adoption among our customer base,” said Cu.

Such partnerships not only benefitted Globe but also helped these content providers establish a strong foothold in the Philippine market, Cu emphasized. For instance, Spotify, a Globe partner in music streaming, has so far streamed 2.5 billion songs, making the Philippines the fastest growing music streaming market in Asia and second in the world. Hooq, Asia’s first over-the-top video service, has streamed over 3 million minutes since its launch in February this year.

Revenues

Also, as a result of the company’s ground-breaking partnership with Facebook, the social networking site has over 18 million in daily active users, growing by 50% from a year earlier. “These are testaments to the growth of Philippine market and our role through our partnerships in shaping this growth,” he added.

In the first half of the year, Globe Telecom’s consolidated revenues reached a record level of P53.8 billion, 13% higher than the P47.7 billion reported a year earlier. This yielded a core net profit of P8.6 billion, a 14% jump from a year earlier while EBITDA was at P22.7 billion, 19% higher against P19.1 billion a year earlier.

Growth in mobile broadband across Asia Pacific is expected to surge as more and more people are likely to start using smartphones and embrace data connectivity. Estimates indicate the region will have 1.9 billion LTE users and about the same number of 3G users by 2020. (Press Release)

No Comments

3 min read

Tech

myLifestyle Plan propels Globe postpaid revenues to P15.8 billion

MyCebu Partners

September 9, 2015 12:15 pm September 9, 2015

3 min read

No Comments

3 min read

Globe Telecom remains the dominant player in the country’s mobile postpaid segment after posting postpaid revenues of P15.8 billion during the first half of the year on the back of its innovative myLifestyle Plan which set a global standard in postpaid plan offerings, the company said in a press release.

The phenomenal growth in revenues gave Globe the upper-hand in terms of revenue market share, a global metric used in determining market leadership across telcos worldwide.

Postpaid customer base likewise grew by 12 percent to 2.3 million in the same period from 2.1 million in the previous year. These positive gains are derived from the success of the myLifestyle Plan that helped boost gross acquisitions to reach a new record-high of 477,608 for the first six months of the year, up 23 percent from last year. Year-to-date net incremental postpaid subscribers stood at 60,776, 14 percent higher than 2014 level.

Unlimited calls and texts

With the myLifestyle Plan, customers get a base postpaid plan that already comes with built-in unlimited calls and texts to Globe and TM for only P499 monthly. With an additional P99, customers get data access and a free smartphone. Globe has also made available various lifestyle packs suited for their entertainment, social media or productivity needs. The more services they add on top of the base plan, the better the handset they can get.

“The myLifestyle Plan was a significant growth driver of postpaid revenues and customer base in the first half of the year as it was a perfect response to the burgeoning shift to the digital lifestyle and was way ahead of its time. With the myLifestyle Plan, customers get a postpaid plan made for the way they live today, giving them a full smartphone experience with focus on data usage. The myLifestyle Plan is set to become an invaluable life tool to allow our customers to enjoy a world of digital content that is built the way they live now,” said Erli Valdez, Vice President for Postpaid Business at Globe.

Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+, Note 5

To sustain growth momentum for the second half of the year, Globe recently unveiled its innovative postpaid plan offerings for the new Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ and Note 5. Customers can get the new S6 edge+ with 32 GB memory at Plan 1499 with a cash-out of P800 per month for a 2-year contract period. With the plan bundle, customers can enjoy unlimited calls and texts to Globe/TM; GoSURF 999 with 5 GB of mobile internet; free 1 month of Gadget Care, Navigation Bundle that allows access to apps such as Accuweather, Google Maps, MMDA App, Grab Taxi and Waze; and 1 GB of cloud storage through Globe Cloud. Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ with 64 GB memory is also available on the same plan with P1,000 cash out for 24 months.

On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 offers a leveled up mobile viewing experience with its upgraded features such as a bigger screen display, faster processor and improved camera quality. It is now more affordable at Plan 999 with cash-out of P800 for 24 months. At Plan 999, customers get unlimited calls and texts to Globe/TM; GoSURF 499 with 3 GB of mobile internet; free 1 month of Gadget Care, Navigation Bundle; and 1 GB of Globe Cloud storage.

To know more about the offers, customers can visit www.globe.com.ph/S6 for the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ and www.globe.com.ph/note5 for the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 The new Samsung smartphones will be available in Globe stores nationwide starting September 5, 2015. (Press Release)

No Comments