I’m willing to bet that all Filipino mobile subscribers may have seen the following ads (or something similar) in the last few months:
The telcos (Globe, Smart, and Sun Cellular) are in an unlimited service war and its a war that will slash the prices of text and call prices greatly. In fact, the promos have spun off a new term– “unli”– to describe the unlimited call and text services.
So why are these promos springing left and right? The way I see it, the telcos seem to be easing up on their respective cost recovery modes. These companies have made a killing since the 1990′s on voice and SMS services that I think they have come to a point where they have to look for new streams of revenue.
Competition is also a huge factor. Sun Cellular is more than willing to drop the price points as the newest entrant in the field to the point that Globe and Smart must respond.
Finally, I think the Filipino consumer have matured in their use of mobile services. Gone are the days when there was novelty in text and mobile voice calls. I wouldn’t be surprised of most Filipinos put these mobile services in their “utilities” category, the same one as water and electricity. This is a sign that SMS and call services are getting commoditized.
The was I see it, Globe, Smart, and Sun Cellular will continue to wage this unlimited war in the next couple of years. The winner? Clearly, the customers.
