Philippine telco bundles chat apps with phone plans for free

Chat apps are one of the biggest trends in Asia today. In the Philippines, Globe Telecom recognizes that. Last month, Globe bundled Viber in its unlimited call and SMS promo. Prepaid users could use Viber even in the absence of a wi-fi connection and without additional data charges. This time, the Philippine telco is even expanding its chat apps offering to its bundled services.

Through its new promo GoUnli30, prepaid subscribers can make unlimited calls, SMS, and use most of today’s chat apps – Viber, WeChat, Line, Kakao Talk, Whats App, Facebook Messenger, and the telco’s own IM application, GMessenger. The unlimited offer lasts for 24 hours and costs Php 30 ($0.67).

Globe started offering personalized bundle plans to its prepaid subscribers this year. Following this, Globe senior advisor for consumer business Peter Bithos says Globe’s decision to give its subscribers access to chat apps is they can have a better mobile experience. He adds:

True to our promise of enjoying Globe your way, we allow our customers to communicate via OTT players for free their own way.

Interestingly, Globe’s move to include all the chat apps into a single bundle may just show that chat apps are not threats to telcos. It now seem to complement the internet data services of telcos, and Globe even gives varied options for mobile users in the Philippines.

In comparison, Globe’s 50 MB data consumption also costs Php 30 ($0.67), which makes this new offering a cheap alternative for prepaid subscribers in the Philippines wherein mobile users opt for a low-cost day-to-day means of topping up their phone credits.

(Editing by Paul Bischoff)