Globe to roll out products to monetize VoIP services

CEBU, Philippines - Telecommunications giant Globe Telecom will be coming up with products and services that will maximize the potential of voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) as this communication gateway has further affected telco’s voice and text revenues.

Globe Telecom president Ernest Cu admitted that VoIP services, like Viber, Tango, Skype and Face-To-Face, among others, are now considered as threat to the telecommunication industry not only in the Philippines but globally.

Aside from the stiffer competition among telecom players, Cu said the biggest threat to the industry now is facing the “unknown competitors,” referring to the increasing number of VoIP services nowadays.

Social networking sites, like Facebook, are also considered as telecom’s threat as communication now mostly happens in these portals, almost outpacing the use of cellular phones for text and voice calls.

“The biggest threat right now are the unseen, unknown competitors which seem like partners but are reaching wider audience like Facebook, Viber, Tango, Skype, [and other similar services],” said Cu.

However, because no one can stop the growth and expansion of technology, Cu said Globe Telecom will be coming up with similar offers to monetize these kinds of services.

“If we can’t beat them, might as well join them,” he said, expressing interest that Globe is looking at tapping this avenue to sustain its lead in the telecommunication sector, including its entry to the VoiP gateway.

“We don't want to be just the provider of the network, but we are also looking at providing services to continue to be relevant—going beyond calling and texting,” he said.

According to Cu, the fast changing technology, in particular the increased of VoiP services, is a complex problem now being faced by the telecommunication companies, not only in the Philippines but all over the world.

Globe Telecom, however, will face these complications head-on and will come up with products, services and strategy in entering into this kind of platform.

In Facebook, for instance, Globe has started to take advantage of the millions of Facebook users to stimulate the use of mobile.

Aside from traditional “bread and butter” revenue streams, such as broadband, voice, text, among others, Globe is continuously creating other products and services that will add up to the company’s financial buffer.

The introduction and continuous development of its GCASH product has helped Globe further reach out to more subscribers.

Last year, the company invested heavily on developing unique services under this eMoney platform; from merely money transfer, GCASH has expanded into an all-in-one mobile commercial product.

“GCASH broke new ground in the mobile commerce sphere with the introduction of the GCASH American Express Virtual Pay product. Online shopping has never been as accessible to Filipinos with the international credit facility and free US shopping address the service provides. While it is still in its early stages, we can expect strong adoption in the near future,” Cu said.

Other significant revenue contributors of the company include its broadband business, among others.

In 2012, Globe Telecom recorded 33.1 million subscribers, up by 10 percent compared to the previous year. Its broadband subscribers grew by 18 percent to 1.7 million last year, with broadband revenues reaching P8.7 billion. /JMD (FREEMAN)