Globe gains momentum in value-added services

MANILA, Philippines - Globe Telecom is gaining momentum in engaging new customer services with the increase in the take-up of its ringback tones, music and social networking services in the first half of the year.

Commonly known as value-added services (VAS), these have shown encouraging growth in mobile Internet usage and the number of mobile browsers.

Globe said it has cornered a sizeable share of the VAS market owing to its large postpaid base, the market being easily receptive to these services. The good performance was attributed to the ease and convenience of accessing and using these services via SMS menus, the Globe WAP (wireless application protocol) portal and the Globe Web portal.

It added that the availability of mobile Internet-capable devices and affordable data rates helped push the company’s VAS revenues. Customers are increasingly accessing the Internet using their mobile phones due to the proliferation of popular content and applications today.

“Globe is currently enjoying a disproportionate share of the VAS market in relation to our subscriber base. Given the lower entry cost and the always-connected capability of mobile Internet handsets, these are preferred by customers to the more traditional Internet devices such as PCs, netbooks and laptops. There is reason to be bullish on the prospects of mobile Internet for Globe,” Globe VAS head Rina Azcuna-Siongco said.

“We aim to corner a larger share of the VAS market and sustain our leadership. Globe will continue to offer more relevant applications that would fit the lifestyle of our subscribers including entertainment, social networking and mobile data services,” she added.

For the remainder of the year, Globe expects mobile Internet usage to continue to pick up and user-generated content to create VAS revenues as customers are now more savvy and active in creating their own content as seen through popular social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.