PH telcos hustle to lock in clients with prepaid data

SCREEN TIME Whether for work, education or entertainment, internet connectivity is a musthave. —FILE PHOTO

Internet connectivity has become a universal currency in this time of heightened digital adoption—and the local telecommunication players have been ramping up efforts to entrench their customers by offering low-cost products and spending billions in supporting infrastructure.

Last year, the industry players made moves to make the internet cheaper by launching prepaid products in an economy where sachet-sized commodities are preferred when inflation heats up. Doing so has become a strategic move for the telcos given how much the cost of connectivity has been weighing on consumers who can no longer do away without the internet.

Globe Telecom Inc., for example, introduced affordable prepaid fiber connectivity by establishing Wi-Fi hubs where users can connect their devices. The Ayala-led company is tapping sari-sari stores and other community-based commercial spaces for this service.

With this offering, users can have internet access of one hour for P5 and 12 hours for P20. Subscribers can also pay P50 to P500 to have connectivity for three to 30 days.

Globe, in addition, launched GFiber Prepaid, which provides unlimited fiber connection for as low as P299. Its postpaid plan, in comparison, starts at P1,699.

Converge ICT Solutions Inc., another player, also entered the prepaid market with the launch of “Surf2Sawa.” It enables consumers to have unlimited fiber connectivity for as low as P50 for one-day service up to P700 for a 30-day connection. Postpaid plans are priced at least P1,500 per month.

Meanwhile, DITO Telecommunity introduced DITO Data Sachets, allowing customers to access 1-gigabyte (GB) data for P10 up to 5-GB data for P50. The product is good for seven days.

It also launched DITO Home 5G Wi-Fi Prepaid product, offering 100-GB data for P590 per month. Postpaid 5G plans, to compare, can cost around P1,490 monthly.

Costly connection

According to a study by cybersecurity firm Surfshark, the Philippines has among the least affordable internet services globally.

For fixed broadband connectivity, Filipinos have to work about 11 hours and 5 minutes per month to pay for it. Compared to Israelis whose internet package only costs 19 minutes of work monthly, Filipinos have to work 34 times more.

The study noted that broadband services, in general, have been getting less affordable due to the rising inflation globally.

Ilonggo’s charge their cellphone at SM City to ease the suffering from Black out which a rotational power outage experienced in Iloilo City (ARNOLD ALMACEN/ILOILO CITY MAYOR’S OFFICE)

Raymond Policarpio, Globe vice president and head for brand management, says that launching a prepaid product is a “testament to Globe’s commitment to providing fiber internet connection that empowers everyone to seize new opportunities.”

“Whether it’s for work, education, or setting up an online business, [our prepaid product] is here to make that leap possible, all while staying within budget,” he tells the Inquirer.

“As a broadband provider, we fully support the goal to achieve ‘meaningful universal connectivity’ to as many Filipinos as possible, given its catalytic role in unlocking opportunities in education, livelihood, entertainment, and business,” Converge agreed.

As for PLDT Inc., chief technology officer Joseph Gendrano says they are studying the entry into prepaid fiber space.

Backing infrastructure

With heightened digitalization, the internet service providers have found it imperative to ramp up investments in data centers, which are hubs that store critical servers and information technology systems.

“This increase of data requires strong data centers for effective storage and management. Furthermore, as cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT) gain popularity, the need for data centers grows,” Chrissie Lim-Legaspi, head of strategy execution at Globe unit ST Telemedia Global Data Centers (STTGDC) Philippines, tells the Inquirer.

Last year, STTGDC held a groundbreaking ceremony for its 124-megawatt (MW) data center in Fairview, Quezon City. It will be spending about $1 billion to construct the facility sprawling over 83,000 square-meters of gross floor area across four buildings.

PLDT, meanwhile, is eyeing to finish its 11th data center, VITRO Sta. Rosa, in Laguna, by the second quarter of 2024. It is designed with a 50-MW capacity.

“For PLDT, we reaffirm our commitment to continuously improve our network, make our operations more efficient and bring the benefits of the latest technologies and innovations closer to our customers, in order to deliver leveled-up services across the country,” PLDT network head Eric Santiago tells the Inquirer.

Converge, meanwhile, said earlier it was spending at least $60 million to put up three data centers in Pampanga, Quezon City and Cebu.

Data center demand has increased amid the trend among enterprises shifting their operations to cloud-based platforms to enable hybrid work setup. Cloud technology enables employees of these enterprises to access files and other crucial applications digitally anywhere but this also demands more data storage.

According to a survey by software company Alibaba Cloud, 85 percent of the businesses in the Philippines are expected to fully transition to cloud by next year.