GLOBE TELECOM, Inc. expects to reach at least 200,000 customers for its prepaid fiber internet by the end of 2023 as the company launched the product on Thursday.
Raymond Policarpio, vice-president for brand management of Globe’s broadband business group, told reporters the target is possible as the new product, which offers high-speed internet connection, will be tapping less saturated markets.
“[Prepaid fiber] penetration right now for the Philippines is geared towards the A, B, and C markets, which are highly saturated at around 78%, but that’s just around 30% of the total Philippine households,” he said.
“The 70% of the household — the D and E markets — remains to be penetrated at only about 26%. So there’s a huge opportunity there,” he said.
Mr. Policarpio said the company is expecting to have new entrants to the fiber market, which receives data transmitted via fiber optic cables, after the rollout of its GFiber Prepaid.
“What we are trying to target here is the D and E markets so we will be getting a lot of new entrants to the fiber market. We are aiming to get some acquisitions new to the category,” he said.
Globe subscribers can enjoy fiber connectivity through its pay-per-use promos starting from P299 for seven days, and P999 for 30 days.
“The GFiber Prepaid is available nationwide. It is not limited to Metro Manila; we’ve launched it across the whole country. Customers will just have to check their serviceability,” Mr. Policarpio said.
DATA CENTER JOINT VENTUREMeanwhile, the joint venture between Globe, the Ayala group, and Singapore-based ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC) partnered with three local universities to build a data center talent pool.
In a press release on Thursday, STT GDC Philippines — the joint venture between the Ayala group and STT GDC — said that it has collaborated with the De La Salle University, the University of Santo Tomas, and the National University.
“This partnership merges the academic expertise of our esteemed university partners with industry insights from STT GDC Philippines, offering an enriched learning journey for students and a fortified future for our nation’s digital revolution,” said Carlomagno F. Malana, president and chief executive officer of STT GDC Philippines.
The Globe group said the collaboration will help achieve three strategic objectives: enhancing awareness of the data center industry, integrating industry-relevant content into engineering curricula, and providing hands-on internship programs.
“Looking forward, STT GDC Philippines plans to scale up the program, inviting more universities and training institutions to participate, to create a robust talent pipeline for the country’s data center industry,” it added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
