Key Point 4: In the Philippines, prepaid mobile users rule with over 98%...

In the Philippines, prepaid mobile users rule with over 98% of all subscribers versus just 2% for postpaid.

Telecoms

What will happen to Globe Visibility Unlimited?

Abe Olandres June 24, 2008 · 2 min read

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People have been asking that since Globe Visibility has obviously moved into the flat prepaid and tiered postpaid models, what will happen to subscribers who are on the GV Unlimited plans?

Well, they will all remain on their current subscription plans until the end of their locked-up contract. After which, Globe will be offering them a new post-paid plan on top of the existing one. Inside sources would not give details of what this new Globe Visibility plans will be but I reckon that it better be something of a close match to that of the unlimited or else they’d get a lot of flak from it.

My guess is that, and this is based on their new postpaid plans, it will be in the vicinity of a special GV Plan 1999 with at least 200 internet hours free. That puts it down to about 6 hours and 40 minutes of free mobile 3G internet per day. It’s still going to be a downgrade from the unlimited plans though but could be bearable.

One curious question here though is why is Globe abandoning the eat-all-you can model for mobile 3G internet? Could be a combination of several factors which might include:

Bandwidth problems? We’ve heard them cap bandwidth allocation to 5GB before (not sure if this was pushed thru). If it’s true that 10% of subscribers are eating up imore than 10GB a month and overloading the network, it makes sense for Globe to sacrifice these 10% to improve network quality for the rest of the 90%. Bold move but it will nonetheless ease up bandwidth traffic congestion.
Slow subscriber takeup? With so many options for getting mobile 3G in the Philippines, subscribers have more choices for their 3G connectivity. Follows the economics of supply & demand.
Prepaid eating up PostPaid? If this trend holds true to regular mobile subscribers, it might also be happening with 3G consumers. In the Philippines, prepaid mobile users rule with over 98% of all subscribers versus just 2% for postpaid. This means the battle for 3G consumers is happening and will be won in the prepaid scene so telcos are focusing on this segment.

I’m not really sure what’s happening here but with the current competition and choice, whoever brings the best/widest coverage at reasonable prices will take home the bigger piece of the pie.

I’m already sold with the pricing, just give me better 3G/HSDPA coverage.

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Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

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36 Comments

???? ?? · 12 years ago

10 a very long time ago. a resource box will be the an all in one with safety in mind regarding .

ricoled · 16 years ago

Can you please help me? I have the old Visibility plan and as of today, it remains unlimited for both internet and wifi. I wanted to close it but was adviced to try and find someone who would buy the plan kasi sayang, they do not issue this deal anymore. I didn’t know that was possible! I don’t need it at home and my average use for it is 5 hours a month. Problem is even if it is unlimited, I only manage to connect via Edge lately. This must be because of network saturation resulting from greedy marketing schemes. Can you advice me on how else I can make better use of GV?

athena · 17 years ago

yes you can…you are paying for that…so you should use it…nakakawalang gana lang kc magsurf using G.V. napakabagal…mabilis pa ung wi-fi ng public plaza namin…kaso lng lobat kalaban mo…wala kasing oulet…wala ba kayong tricks dyan?….hehehe

Boylet · 17 years ago

Hi Yuga,

Just curious, the visibility unlimited (2000php) comes with a sim, right? If you use that sim on a phone, you basically can surf using that phone(as well as smtp and pop) right?

Can I also use that phone as a HSDPA modem instead of the USB dongle that comes with the visibility plan?

Thanks..

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 17 years ago

Yes, you can do that. A friend uses his Visibility SIM on an iPhone 3G so he pretty has unlimited internet plus it can make calls and send SMS.

smdelfin · 17 years ago

Smart Bro is now offering unlimited for P1,500. I don’t know about the reliability, though.

james lim · 18 years ago

I have been a globe visibility subscriber under the unlimited plans for almost 2 years already. but in the past 3-4 months service has been very poor and is not usable anymore. ive been complaining to globe but to no avail.

chelle_law · 18 years ago

hi. i don’t think globe would want to be held liable for breach of contract if they would change the unlimited visibility plan after the 2-yr. contract expires. even if after the 2-yr. contract expires, the visibility subscriber continues to enjoy the features of the same unless, said subscriber requests for its termination. the same is true with the previous postpaid plans introduced by globe. i have friends who still continued the below 500 postpaid plans that were offered way back when texting was just new.

zoe · 18 years ago

it is understandable that globe is offering their supposedly good HSDPA service to more people. what is unfortunate is that they are not upgrading their system to accommodate all of their subscribers/ users. the scenario now is that people subscribed to their unlimited 2k/month plan is not satisfied with the speed. i for one barely use my visibility now unless it’s really urgent. my two-year lock up will end in a few months and I’m really hoping for a change in the service. i’d really hate to say goodbye to my visibility. the 5pesos/15minutes is also a rip-off considering that you wont get anywhere within 15mins. what you will get is frustration.

Mochan · 18 years ago

Globe needs to give us Unlimited plans. There is no way I will be happy with prepaid pay-per-minute.

I know prepaid rules here but let the 98% duke it out with their prepaid plans, leave the 2% that like unlimited postpaid alone!

Jan Blando · 18 years ago

If I’m not mistaken, Globe will offer the unlimited data plan option to their subscribers who will get the 3G iPhone. I’m not sure if browsing will be limited to the phone since the first gen iPhone can’t be used as a modem.

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 18 years ago

@erin – they will be sim-locked with the duration of your contract, which is usually 24-months.

After that, I think you can use it with any SIM. Question though is — will the unlocking be automatic or would require you to go to a business center to do it.

Erin · 18 years ago

@yuga: np. i just realized that i skipped when finishing the sentence. one of the perils of multi-tasking. :D

i assume that these devices are also sim-locked? i wonder how long would these be “open-lined” so one can switch between providers similar to choosing which dial-up isp one is going to use. :)

ciao!

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 18 years ago

@erin, thanks for the correction on the typo.

@lintdale, depending on your location actually where you get the best 3G speeds. Try both Globe and Smart for a month and see where you get best bang for you buck in terms of speed, reliability and cost.

lindtdale · 18 years ago

Hey Yuga,

I have a smart bro prepaid now…. which mobile 3g should i use? I’m willing to buy a new one from globe as long as I’ll have a better coverage…. I like the pricing of globe since the interval is every 15 minutes…. my main problem with smart bro 3g is if i get disconnected after 10 seconds of connection, i;m already charged with 10php for the entire 30 minutes….

Thanks!

Erin · 18 years ago

err yuga, you might want to the third bullet again especially the 2% category. :)

does the Php5/15mins still have the same charge per connection problem?

ciao!

jhay · 18 years ago

That’s the Holy Grail I guess, better 3G/HSDPA coverage.

When would that age dawn upon us? lol

david · 18 years ago

At this point, you should be getting more for less, not less for more. The new prepaid plans aren’t appealing. You may as well just pay the P5/15 minutes and leave it at that. That’s hardly a replacement for unlimited service, though.

I’m still on the P2000/unlimited service and it’s been good lately, when I’ve used it. In the beginning it was really rough, though.