MANILA – Globe Telecom is giving its over 40 million subscribers free access to a basic version of Facebook on mobile devices for good and an assortment of perks for new users and bundled plans for games and music streaming.
Not to be confused with the Facebook Lite app, Globe will be offering a zero-rated lightweight version of Facebook with limited access to photos and video.
Globe customers will need to download and launch the latest version of Facebook for Android or access it via a mobile browser where they will asked to opt in or out of Facebook with free data. If they opt out, they will automatically be directed to the full version of Facebook and charged their regular data rate.
“With all the things we are offering right now, we can genuinely say Free Facebook is back and its staying,” says Dan Horan, Senior Advisor for Consumer Business at Globe, in a press conference Wednesday.
Aside from democratizing online acess, free Facebook creates a springboard for outbound clicks that Globe can tap for revenues. Data charges also happen when a customer clicks a photo within Facebook, an external link or any content that leads outside the Facebook app.
Globe, however, kept its promise of looking after its user base by providing a data control button they co-developed with Facebook that tells the user which version of Facebook he/she is currently using to avoid unecesary costs.
As of March 2015, monthly active users on Facebook in the Philippines has reached 43 million.
This represents 23% growth when compared to March 2014. On the same period, mobile monthly active users reached 35 million, a 35% growth compared in the previous year. Daily active users hit 23 million, a 28% growth year-on-year. Finally, mobile daily active users in the Philippines reached 18 million, a 50% growth when compared to March 2014.
The telco is also offering Free Facebook for 7 Days for TM customers and Free Facebook with a GoSURF subscription with new bundles. Below are the details fresh from a statement released Wednesday.
FREE FACEBOOK VIA TM CHOOSE-YOUR-NUMBER SIM
Available for the value of only P30, customers who have purchased the TM® Choose-Your-Number SIM will also receive the bonus of free access to the full Facebook experience for 7 days. Besides allowing customers to choose their own mobile number, the SIM also allows customers to register to different call, text, and mobile internet promos.
Mobile devices must be internet-capable and have a maintaining load balance of P1 in order to access free Facebook on TM® SIM cards.
FREE ACCESS TO FACEBOOK VIA GOSURF
For customers who want a full experience of Facebook with photo and video streaming access, they can register to a GoSURF data plan to access the social networking site for free. GoSURF is the telco’s consumable data plan which paved the way for mobile users to embrace the habit of mobile browsing, with subscriptions growing by 131% and revenues by 124% over the last year.
As the only telco in the country to offer free access to Facebook with a complete browsing experience with a GoSURF subscription, Globe gives customers access to a full experience which includes viewing of photos, streaming of videos uploaded on Facebook, as well as posting, liking, sharing and making comments on the social networking site. Access to the Messenger app, excluding calls, is also free.
Available to Globe Prepaid and TM customers with a GoSURF subscription and to Globe Postpaid customers who will opt-in to the free Facebook promo, free access to Facebook works on any mobile platform, including the Facebook Android app and browsers (via m.facebook.com), without any maintaining balance.
Postpaid customers can access Facebook for free without any purchase requirement while Prepaid and TM customers will automatically get access upon purchase of any GoSURF promo. The validity of the free access to Facebook offer is the same as the subscribed GoSURF promo.
Customers who have successfully registered on GoSURF will receive a text message notifying the availability of the free access to Facebook service, and will also see the “Facebook with Free Data” banner at the top of the mobile site or app once the free access to Facebook promo is activated.
Aside from Free Facebook, customers also get free access to premium content such as Spotify and top mobile games with GoSURF. With GoSURF50, customers get 300MB of data to access the internet and an additional free 400MB for music streaming and online mobile gaming for only P50 valid for 3 days.
The games include Clash of Clans, Candy Crush Saga, Candy Crush Soda Saga, Summoners War, Hay Day, Boom Beach, Soul Seeker, Dungeon Hunter 5, and Asphalt 8: Airborne.
To get free access to Facebook on prepaid or TM via GoSURF, simply register to any GoSURF promo and wait for the Facebook activation notification which will be sent via text message. For customers who wish to avail of the bonus FB trial for TM® SIMs, simply text BONUS FB to 8888.
Facebook with free data launches once a customer has updated their FB app to its latest version and will automatically be available to those who are not on Postpaid or any GoSURF plan. For Postpaid customers, opt-in to free Facebook by texting FREE FB ON to 8888. To know more information, text FREE FB to 8888. To inquire about the promo, text FREE FB HELP to 8888. To check status, text FREE FB STATUS to 8888.
