MOBILE services providers Smart Communications Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. are battling for supremacy over the mobile-data space—the main revenue driver of the two companies—with one claiming dominance over its rival who is now reaping the benefits of its renewed digital strategy.
Smart Executive Vice President Ariel P. Fermin said his group’s mobile Internet and broadband recorder of P15.6 billion in revenues in the first nine months of the year was a record growth for the said business segments. He attributed breakthrough data performance to the back-to-back partnerships that it recently forged with the leading global digital-technology companies.
“We’re now seeing the effects of a revitalized digital strategy for mobile which focuses on providing a superior ‘Smart Life’ proposition to subscribers. Our partnerships that bring them the best offers from the world’s leading digital companies will continue to drive data growth as more users access the Internet on their smartphone devices,” he said.
Smart has forged deals for entertainment with iflix, Fox, MCA Music and Sony Music, as well as with leading digital firms, such as Uber, the world’s most popular ride-sharing service, and most recently, Airbnb, the world’s leading community-driven hospitality company.
Smart has taken this approach to ride the wave of rising smartphone ownership within its network, which stood at more than 35 percent of its cellular subscriber base, half of which now pay for data access.
Meanwhile, Smart’s wireless-broadband business has seen a similar upward trend in growth, as it posted strong increase in revenues, following a 41-percent increase in subscribers which stood at 3.8 million as of the third quarter of 2015.
“We aim to sustain this growth in our mobile data and broadband businesses, with more compelling offers and stronger digital partnerships well into next year,” Fermin added.
To support the trend of exponential data usage growth across its network, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) has earmarked P43 billion for its capital requirements this year to build out network capacity, coverage, and resiliency, as well as to expand the coverage of its 3G and 4G networks nationwide.
Globe Senior Advisor for Consumer Business Dan Horan claimed his company has reigned supreme over its rival on the mobile-data space, as it posted a 48-percent surge in data revenues to P15.1 billion in the first nine months of the year. This was, however, a bit lower at around P400 million versus Smart’s revenues.
“Our mobile data revenues have once again exceeded our expectations, maintaining its robust double-digit growth in revenues and traffic, as well as triple-digit growth in user base,” Horan said. “We are confident that we can sustain this growth momentum towards the end of the year as the demand for data connectivity during the holidays is expected to soar. This shift to the digital lifestyle is part of our commitment to drive the country’s position as the world’s next social media capital.”
Like its rival, Globe continued on with partnering with internet and device providers to give customers a differentiated experience. It worked closely with internet giant Google to bring Chromecast to the country, giving users a new way to stream their favorite entertainment content at home.
The thumb-sized media streaming device will allow customers to get instant access to quality entertainment experience at home as they get to view content and apps from the small screen to the big screen.
Globe also ventured into a co-branding agreement with Cherry Mobile to launch the Cherry Prepaid SIM and phone bundles. The prepaid offering, 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.
“The co-branding agreement is a strategic move for Globe to attract at least 2 to 3 million additional prepaid customers as we expand our reach in the mass market segment, enabling their digital lifestyle with call, text, and data offerings that give value for money,” Horan said.
Globe has earmarked $800 million in capital expenditures for 2016.