'Arrival of GSM phones a social phenomenon'

Five million Filipinos will be using cellular phones by the end of next year, a social phenomenon surpassing that of the television set's introduction in the country in the 1950s, an executive of a telephone company said yesterday.

Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, chairman of Globe Telecom, spoke at the first Philippine WAP (wireless applications protocol) symposium and business incubator at the Hotel Intercontinental Manila.

"Within two short years, literally millions of Filipinos will have a wonderful device--instant access, fast response and rich in content and function," he said. "I am sure they will embrace it and build it into their lives. I am sure they will surprise us with new, unexpected behaviors and habits."

Zobel predicted that five million Filipinos will be using a European-developed global system for mobile communications in the next 20 months as compared to about three million at present.

He said Filipinos are by far the largest users of text messaging in the world today, with Globe alone processing some 14 million messages daily.

New technologies will transform the mobile telephone such as the WAP and the general packet radio switch (GPRS), he added.

Zobel said WAP, which compresses information in the web to fit into cellular phones, will allow subscribers with WAP-enabled handsets to surf the Internet without a personal computer.

Cellular phone users who will buy a GSM handset next year may be able to get one which is WAP-enabled, he added.

He said Globe will roll out GPRS by the fourth quarter of this year to bring in the speed and instant Internet access needed to realize the full potential of mobile communications.

The industry should work together to build applications that would make the lives of subscribers simpler and better, he added.

"We must use the mobile to enable our customers to access and embrace the benefits of the new economy--instant information, banking, micro payments, location finding, security access device, community building, music video, and health," he said.

"We must search the almost infinite range of potential applications and develop those that make a difference."