Smart, Globe launch promos as battle for subscribers heats up

MANILA, Philippines - Wireless giant Smart Communications Inc. of dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Ayala-controlled Globe Telecom Inc. are set to put in place new initiatives as the battle for control over the country’s pre-paid and post-paid subscribers continued to heat up.

Building on the momentum of its postpaid business, Smart chief wireless advisor Orlando Vea said the company is set to launch promos and undertake other initiatives within the first half of the year to drive growth further.

Vea said these initiatives include the expansion of its sales and customer service resources for greater distribution and the continuous enlargement of its network footprint all the way to the most remote corners of the country.

 â€œInnovative plans make it possible for customers to enjoy the wide range of smartphones and tablets that we offer according to their preferred usage patterns. Smart’s super-charged network, backed by the country’s most extensive fiber optic network, delivers an experience that competition simply cannot match,” he added.

Smart launched last year a series of market-first postpaid offers, starting with the Freedom Plan, which lets users pay only for what they use or consume, without the fixed monthly fees and long lock-in periods.

At the other end of the price spectrum, Smart created an entry-level niche for those aspiring to subscribe to its premium brand, through the Infinity Plan 3500.

Its bestselling Unli Data, Unli 599 and 399, Unli Social 349, and the fully-customizable All-In Plans likewise pushed Smart’s postpaid subscriber base to spike, driven by the deluge of first-time postpaid users and switchers, in just the first nine months of 2012.

Data showed that Smart’s postpaid subscribers surged 24 percent adding 133,000 new subscribers — the highest number of net postpaid additions of any year within the last 10 years.

On the other hand, Globe head of prepaid KD Dizon said in a statement that the company intends to maintain its position in the market with another breakthrough and game-changing offer through “GoSakto” that allows subscribers to create their own prepaid promo based on their needs, budget, and lifestyle, bringing the principle of customization and personalization to prepaid customers.

 â€œTaking this consumer insight, we at Globe developed a new service that will give the subscribers the power to make their own promo from scratch. Through GoSakto, Globe will be the brand that makes prepaid promos more flexible, personal, and yes customizable,” Dizon stressed.

Globe senior advisor for consumer business Peter Bithos said Globe Prepaid added net incremental subscribers of nearly 300,000 in the fourth quarter while its mass market brand TM also posted net subscriber acquisitions of 700,000, bringing total Globe prepaid subscriber base net additions to almost one million.