Telecom Lead Asia: Globe Telecom, a mobile operator in the Philippines, has showed its preparedness to
address the growing need of mobile broadband, fuelled by rapid penetration of
smartphones.

In order to address the surging demand of mobile internet, Globe
is modernizing its network with 4G HSPA+ and LTE, compatible with many of the
smartphones and other mobile devices set to launch in the Philippine market.

In Q1 FY12, Philippines posted the highest growth for the
region’s smartphone market, as smartphones totaled 30 percent of all mobile
phones purchased in the country, according to GfK Asia.

The GfK Asia study noted that the smartphone usage in the
country has been buoyed by the introduction of entry level smartphone models at
USD100 price point or less.

Globe said that 19 percent of its subscriber base own
smartphones, or almost 6 million as of end-2011. Also, the operator doubled its
activated sites for HSPA+ from last year and plans to activate more networks in
the coming months.

Globe Telecom expects smartphone penetration and mobile
browsing in the Philippines will continue to rise, fuelled by low-cost
smartphone and increasing popularity of internet browsing and social
networking.

Globe added that the growing preference for smartphones
will increase the use of mobile internet within the next three years driven by
the availability of data plans ranging from prepaid daily variants to unlimited
postpaid plans.

“There is great opportunity in the market today as the
current set-up of telco networks in the Philippines is not yet ideal for
smartphones. Smartphones hinge their performance on the network infrastructure
it runs on. We want to give our customers the best network that enriches their
mobile internet experience so network quality is important,” said the
spokesperson of Globe.

Globe Telecom mobile broadband service outperforms two key
competing brands

Recently, Tattoo, the broadband brand of Globe Telecom,
outperformed two key competing brands in the prepaid mobile broadband segment
in salient measures, according to a study commissioned by Globe Telecom and
conducted by Nielsen.

[email protected]