Business

Globe corners mobile data traffic, leads industry in data revenue share

Philstar.com

March 30, 2015 | 8:30pm

MANILA, Philippines -- Globe Telecom led the industry in mobile data business with revenues and data traffic growing faster than competition, on the back of its partnerships with global players and better network experience.

Mobile browsing and other data revenues reached P14.3 billion in 2014, up 23 percent from P11.6 billion in the previous year. In comparison, mobile Internet revenues for the PLDT Group were at P8.1 billion from P5 billion in 2013, giving Globe a clear edge with a 64-percent revenue market share.

In 2014, Globe network carried significantly higher data traffic at 87,000 terabytes of data, increasing 270 percent from the previous year because of a significant surge in mobile browsing activity and higher smartphone adoption among its customers. With its network modernization, Globe has greater capacity for data traffic that translates to better experience for its customers. The PLDT Group registered 48,000 terabytes of data, a 167 percent growth year-on-year.

Driving the growth of its mobile data business were the telco’s partnerships with global content providers to enrich the customer experience amid the growing propensity for multimedia applications on their devices. Globe has partnered with Google, Facebook, Viber, Spotify, NBA and recently, online entertainment service HOOQ to structure offers that aim to further seed mobile data adoption among its customers.

“Today, Globe is in the best position to take advantage of the growing consumer appetite for quality digital content as the purveyor of the Filipino digital lifestyle. As the demand for data continues to drive our growth, we remain steadfast in our strategy to build the most appropriate portfolio of mobile data offers to cater to our customers’ evolving digital needs,” said Dan Horan, Globe senior advisor for consumer business group.

Globe has also partnered with Wattpad to deliver access to crowd-sourced content to its customers. It also launched PisoMall last year, which allows customers to watch and stream snack-size videos for P1.

“We believe that this business model is the most appropriate path for us to meet the changing needs of our customers as the world of data becomes more pervasive in their lives. With the growing adoption to more connected devices, Globe expects its mobile data business to create deep revenue streams for the company in both the near and long-term period. The growing demand for mobile data services is a key driver for growth for Globe in 2015 amid growing affordability of a variety of smartphones in the market,” Horan added.

Sustaining its digital roadmap for 2015, Globe unveiled its partnership with HOOQ to enable access to thousands of movies and TV shows from international and local content providers. Filipinos can access over 10,000 movies and TV shows including titles from Sony, Warner Bros., ABS-CBN, GMA Network, Regal Entertainment, and Viva Communications across their computers, smartphones and tablets.

The growth of the telco’s mobile data business will also draw support from the continuing network upgrade and expansion of its LTE TDD and LTE-FDD footprint. To enhance its wireless network infrastructure, Globe is activating more cell sites with the LTE-TDD and LTE-FDD ultra broadband access technologies for a more pervasive Long Term Evolution (LTE) coverage to ensure reliable and fast mobile internet service for its customers.