Globe slashes calls to P1 per minute

Globe Telecom Inc. is offering all-net call promos for as low as P1 per minute as a result of reduced voice interconnect access charges across telecommunications companies.

“The decision to offer all-net calls for as low as P1/minute is intended to further strengthen the company’s position as the leading mobile brand in the country,” Globe legal chief Froilan Castelo said.

“Globe, currently, is the network of choice among smartphone users and the availability of such promos could further attract customers into our network. The all-net call promos are our response to customers’ clamor for lower costs of call services,” he added.

Castelo said 90 percent of the company’s prepaid customers avail of promos in accessing mobile services.

Globe and PLDT Inc. in November last year signed an agreement to reduce interconnection rate for voice calls between the two operators to P2.50 per minute from P4 per minute for mobile to mobile and landline to mobile voice calls. Access charges for mobile to landline voice calls cost P3 per minute. 

Globe’s mobile subscriber base in 2016 reached 62.8 million, up 12 percent from the 56.2 million subscribers reported in 2015.

Prior to the availability of the new offers, there were no pure all-net voice call promo existing in the market. 

Globe call charges to other networks, whether mobile or landline, stand at P7.50 per minute while Globe to Globe/TM regular call rate is at P6.50 per minute. 

Regular calls from TM to Globe/TM is at P5.50 per minute and calls to other networks (including landline) is at P6.50/min.

Under Globe’s latest all-net promos, postpaid customers with Plan 2499 and up may choose to avail of a P299 tack-on that will give them 300-minute calls to all networks. 

Globe’s prepaid subscribers, meanwhile, may avail of GoCall50 which gives 50 minutes of calls to all networks, good for three days; TM customers may add P5 to any existing call and text promo for 5 minutes of calls to any network, good for one day. 

With the new promos, Globe expects call traffic to further increase in 2017, after reaching 69.1 billion minutes in 2016 , up 18 percent from 2015.

The intense competitive environment in the local telco industry has significantly driven down prices of mobile services over the years. 

Mobile data rates, currently at P50 per GB, have dropped 88 percent over the last three years. As a result, the Philippines has one of the lowest data prices compared with top telco providers in Asia, second only India’s Airtel. 

Text messaging which used to be at P1/text in the late 90s is now effectively priced at around P0.10/text with the proliferation of unlimited text services. 

Efforts to reduce prices for call, text, and data will benefit consumers as telco products and services become more accessible to the Filipino masses.