MANILA, Philippines – In another revolutionary move to sustain its leadership in the mobile data business, Globe Telecom has forged a partnership with WhatsApp to allow customers to enjoy free access to the mobile messaging app with a prepaid promo or postpaid plan subscription.
Available to prepaid and postpaid customers, free WhatsApp enables users to enjoy real-time messaging and voice calling without data charges on any Globe prepaid promo or myLifestyle Plan subscription starting April 30, 2015.
Prepaid customers registered to any of their favorite text, call or surf promos such as GoSakto, GoUnli25, GoUnli20, and GoSurf as well as postpaid customers on myLifestyle Plan can avail of free access to WhatsApp. With free WhatsApp, Globe customers can exchange text and video messages, create messaging groups, and send each other unlimited images without having to pay any extra amount on top of their current prepaid promos or monthly service fees (MSF).
Simultaneous to the launch of the partnership, WhatsApp also recently introduced its WhatsApp Calling feature that allows users to make and accept calls, decline or respond to calls with a message, use a speakerphone and mute the microphone feature.
“At Globe, we are proud to be partnering with global companies to give our customers the best digital experiences on their devices. WhatsApp is a leading global messaging company, and we are very excited to announce our partnership with them, which coincides with the global introduction of the new WhatsApp calling feature,” says Dan Horan, Senior Advisor for Consumer Business Group at Globe.
“As part of our continuing journey to enable the Filipino digital lifestyle, we have collaborated with WhatsApp to let our customers enjoy free access to one of the world’s leading messaging apps with a prepaid promo registration or postpaid plan subscription. With WhatsApp, users can enjoy free calls, texts and photo sharing with other WhatsApp users anywhere in the world without worrying about their data charges or the need to look for Wi-Fi spots. Just register to your favorite prepaid promo or get a myLifestyle Plan and avail of free WhatsApp only from Globe,” says Issa Cabreira, Globe Senior Vice President for Consumer Mobile Marketing.
“With the new WhatsApp Calling feature, our 800 million users can easily call their friends all over the world,” said Brian Acton, Co-Founder of WhatsApp. “We’re excited to be partnering with Globe to enrich everyday communications for Filipinos in the Philippines and abroad.”
WhatsApp is a cross-platform, real-time mobile messaging application that allows millions of people around the world to stay connected with their friends and family. To access free WhatsApp, customers can just download the app and use it free of data charges instantly.
Aside from free WhatsApp, prepaid and postpaid customers can also enjoy free access to Facebook by subscribing to their favorite Globe promos.
In 2014, Globe led the industry in mobile data business with revenues and data traffic growing faster than competition, on the back of its partnerships with global players and better network experience to provide compelling content that enrich the Filipino digital lifestyle.
Mobile browsing and other data revenues reached P14.3 billion in 2014, up 23% from P11.6 billion in the previous year, giving Globe a clear edge over competition with 64% revenue market share.
The Globe network also carried significantly higher data traffic at 87,000 terabytes of data, increasing 270% from the previous year because of a significant surge in mobile browsing activity and higher smartphone adoption among its customers. With its network modernization, Globe has greater capacity for data traffic that translates to better experience for its customers.
