Globe links broadband Internet service to mobile phone users

GlobeQUEST has taken another step to make broadband Internet readily available to the mobile professional by making use of short messaging system (SMS) through Globe Handyphone.

GlobeQUEST is the corporate business group of Innove Communications, Inc. while Globe Handyphone is the cellular phone service of Globe Telecom.

With the collaboration of GlobeQUEST and Globe Handyphone, mobile users particularly business travelers and corporate users will have the convenience of getting access to GlobeQUEST WiZ hotspots.

Innove Communications chief executive officer Gil B. Genio said Globe Handyphone postpaid subscribers will now be able to purchase user ID and password through SMS to quickly and immediately connect to a GlobeQUEST WiZ hotspot without the need to apply for a separate WiZ account or fill out any forms. WiZ usage fees will be charged to the Globe Handyphone subscriber’s monthly bill.

For a free trial period beginning Feb. 18 up to March 31, 2004, a Handyphone subscriber who wants to try GlobeQUEST WiZ merely has to obtain his user ID and password by texting WIZ ON and sending it to 2333 or alternatively calling *9910. Each SMS costs P2.50.

"What we’re doing now is making it more convenient for a GlobeQUEST WiZ user to get his access ID and credits," Genio said..

"With this development, Globe Handyphone is once again expanding the range of value-added mobile communications services which we have consistently delivered over the years as the brand of choice to our fast growing subscribers," said Ferdinand dela Cruz, head-wireless business of Globe Telecom.

On top of SMS, GlobeQUEST WiZ users can also purchase prepaid vouchers in selected hotspots nationwide or can simply avail of GlobeQUEST’s Universal Access Plans for post-paid subscription.

WiZ is GlobeQUEST’s Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) service that provides Internet access at broadband speed, thereby, allowing transmission of huge amount of data such as large files, video, and multimedia applications in seconds.

Wi-Fi is based on the industry standard 802.11b, a technology that allows users to get high-speed Internet access in select public locations minus the complications of cables, sockets, jacks and ports. Todate, GlobeQUEST WiZ is the first and only Intel-verified wireless Internet service provider in the Philippines.