Local mobile brand makes LTE affordable to masses

CEBU, Philippines - Pinoy-made Cherry Mobile is set to roll-out LTE (Long Term Evolution) enabled SIMs before the end of the year, to make 4G connectivity much more affordable to the mainstream market.

Jonathan Salera, Cherry Prepaid usage and retention head said that the LTE-capable SIM, which will be more affordable than the existing offers, is seen to boost data consumption among mobile users in the country, specifically to the budget-conscious subscribers.

Although there are already existing prepaid LTE capable SIMs in the market today, Salera said Cherry Mobile's package through its existing partnership with Globe Telecom could further open the doors for a wider range of subscribers to maximize the full potential of their LTE-capable phones and enjoy the benefits of having high-speed Internet on the go.

In 2015, Cherry Mobile entered into a co-branding partnership with Globe Telecom and established its subsidiary Cherry Prepaid SIM.

The prepaid service, dubbed as Cherry Prepaid powered by Globe, aims to be a game-changer in mass market mobile connectivity that combines high quality mobile phones and prepaid service into one affordable package.

Salera assured consumers of the fast and smooth internet connectivity since Cherry Prepaid is powered by Globe's network.

According to Salera, this joint collaboration of Cherry Mobile and Globe Telecom to offer bundled mobile phone offer imbedded with cheap data access, primarily targets the large budget-conscious student population, who are at the same time, heavy users of mobile data services.

Telecom market research agency Strategy Analytics has revealed revenue forecast for 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G till 2022.

Strategy Analytics said telecom network operators globally will generate more revenue from 4G networks  networks than 3G technologies in 2016.

The report, which will be an eye-opener for several telecoms, said that 4G will be accounting for 49 percent of revenue from a 25 percent share of year-end subscriptions. (FREEMAN)