Globe Telecom and Facebook announced on Monday night that subscribers of Globe can access the social networking site Facebook for free on their mobile phones from October 31, 2013 up to January 2014.
The announcement was made by Globe CEO and President Ernest Cu and Chris Daniels, vice president of partnerships at Facebook. Ernest Cu was quote as saying during the launch that their partnership with Facebook aims to break “barriers” that keep millions of Filipinos from accessing Facebook on their mobile phones.
Chris Daniels and Ernest Cu (Photo: ABS-CBNNews)
He was quoted as saying that, “Globe has solved all these problems because for an initial three months, Facebook will be free to users of Globe in the Philippines,” Cu said during the launch.
All Globe and TM subscribers with smartphones and feature phones can access the Facebook app or m.facebook.com for free starting October 31, 2013 without the need for Wi-Fi or data plan. Aside from the free service, users who wish to access content outside Facebook will be notified if they will incur data charges.
For those who have no prepaid cred they can still access content outside of Facebook by “loaning” P10 worth of load, which will be deducted on their next top-up.
According to Peter Bithos, Globe’s senior advisor for consumer business, Globe is launching not just free Facebook for three months, but they’re launching a customer experience that has been designed end-to-end trying to overcome fears.
Meanwhile on Facebook part, Chris Daniel said that there is a big opportunity in the Philippines, which currently ranks 8th in the world in Facebook users, with an estimated 30 million users, so they need to connect more people. The partnership with Globe was forged to connect the telecom’s 36 million subscribers.