Globe subscribers surge

Publicly listed Globe Telecom Inc. announced Monday a sharp jump in its subscriber base at the end of last year, indicating that initial efforts to win over more clients from its rival Smart Communications Inc. were bearing fruit.

In a briefing, company president Ernest Cu said the Ayala-controlled telecommunications firm had a total of 30 million subscribers by the end of 2011, representing a 13-percent increase over its client base of 26.47 million at the end of the previous year.

The yearend figure was also higher than the 29.1 million reported at the end of the third quarter of 2011.

Globe’s total subscriber base, however, remains dwarfed by the combined 63 million users of the newly merged entity of Smart Communications (originally with 47 million subscribers) and the former Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc. of the Gokongwei family (with 16 million).

Nonetheless, Cu said Globe has been making significant inroads in growing its subscribers in both the postpaid and prepaid segments and its fast-growing broadband Internet service Globe Tattoo.

“We’ve actually been converting more and more users [from our rival] to Globe, in addition to converting more of our own prepaid users to postpaid [accounts],” he said.

According to the company, gross acquisitions of subscribers rose to a record high 6.1 million in the fourth quarter and brought full year total additions to 23.2 million, 7-percent above the 2010 level of 21.8 million.