Blog@Globe

Globe Kris Kringle Blog Writing Contest Winners

Congratulations to the following bloggers who each won a brand new BlackBerry Curve 8520 for our Globe Kris Kringle Blog Writing Contest.

1.) Rina Alcantara – http://www.rina-alcantara.com/2011/12/love-globe-and-blackberry.html

2.) Rafael Yapyuco Gatus – http://iamraffaele.blogspot.com/2011/12/happy-december-folks-we-all-know-that.html

3.) Ransom Agui – http://putopeddler.blogspot.com/2011/12/fruity-holidays-from-globe-and-calea.html

A representative from Globe will contact you via email. Congratulations!

Globe iPhone® 4S stocks first to arrive in PH

Globe Telecom receives the first batch of units of the much-anticipated iPhone® 4S that arrived in Manila just days ahead of the Philippine launch of Apple’s latest mobile device on Friday, December 16, 2011.

The Philippines is part of the third batch of countries that are releasing the iPhone® 4S along with Brazil, Russia, Chile, Malaysia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Turkey and Taiwan. These stocks, shown in the photo above, are for Globe Telecom, with more arrivals set over the next few days.

The numbers of online pre-orders for iPhone 4S on Globe Telecom’s pre-order website continues to swell. Online pre-orders may be placed via http://iphone4s.globe.com.ph.

Online pre-orders for iPhone 4S from Globe surpass last year’s levels

Globe Senior Adviser for Consumer Business Peter Bithos holding an iPhone 4S

Online pre-orders for iPhone 4S on Globe Telecom’s website hit fever pitch, with thousands signing-up for the latest iPhone model, outpacing the volume of orders when Globe launched the iPhone 4 last year.

To date, Globe has already exceeded pre-orders of the iPhone 4S via its online registration versus last year’s levels despite being carried by another operator. Globe started taking pre-orders for iPhone 4S last December 1, 2011. To place an order, log on to at http://iphone4s.globe.com.ph.

And while iPhone 4S won’t be commercially available in the Philippines until December 16, 2011, Apple mania is once again hitting the country. Apple’s third wave of release for iPhone 4S is another big roll-out, with two of the world’s most populous nations: Brazil and Russia, joining the Philippines, Chile, Malaysia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Turkey and Taiwan. By end-2011, iPhone 4S will be carried by 100 carriers in 70 countries worldwide.

“Globe is proud to be one of the first telecommunication companies in Asia to carry iPhone from the very start,” said Peter Bithos, Senior Adviser for Consumer Business of Globe Telecom, “We know iPhone from inside-out, we’ve had years to study the habits and patterns of our customers who use iPhone and we have great offers that combine mobile browsing with SMS and calls that really showcase the power of iPhone 4S.”

iPhone 4S is packed with incredible new features including Apple’s dual-core A5 chip for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics; an all new camera with advanced optics; full 1080p HD resolution video recording; and Siri™, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking. iPhone 4S has a reworked cellular architecture complete with dual-mode HSPA+ and CDMA2000 compatibility, making it a world-phone device.

“iPhone 4S works in perfect sync with the 4G mobile technology of Globe. We were the first to roll-out HSPA+ (Evolved High-Speed Packet Access) to our cell sites and base stations in the country, realizing early on that more and more mobile consumer devices would work on this technology. And as we continue to fast-track our network transformation program, future-proofed and capable of using 4G technologies like long-term evolution (LTE), our customers are in for a better mobile experience,” added Bithos.

Following its announcement of a massive roll-out of HSPA+ technology last April 2011, Globe recently announced an aggressive $790-M network modernization and IT-transformation program that would have the company’s base stations deployed nationwide to be HSPA+ and 3G-enabled in the next two years.

Calling All Bloggers! Win 1 of 3 Blackberry Phones this Christmas!

Join the Globe Kris Kringle Blog Writing Contest and get a chance to win 1 of 3 Blackberry phones this Christmas!

Mechanics:

1. Write a PERSONAL Blog about the new Globe Blackberry Christmas Offer with any of these angles:

Something Affordable

Something Special

Something Exciting

Something Unlimited

Something Free

2. Leave your blog post link as a comment in this post to validate your entry.

3. Only one post per blog will be accepted.

4. Contest will run from December 11 – 21.

5. Entries will be judged based on writing style, relevance to the product offer and creativity.

Bloggers of the best 3 write-ups (chosen by Globe) will win 1 Blackberry smartphone each! A perfect gift this Christmas!

Globe Telecom ready to launch iPhone4S on December 16

Globe Telecom announced the Philippine commercial launch of the iPhone4S on December 16, 2011 (Friday). Globe said it would also make available the complete array of Apple mobile devices—from the iPhone3GS to the iPad2—bundled with innovative plans. Globe has started taking pre-orders for the iPhone4S as early as December 1, 2011. To place an order, logon to http://iphone4s.globe.com.ph.

Globe President and Chief Executive Officer Ernest Cu reiterated that the company maintains a formidable partnership with Apple, that began with the launch of the iPhone 3GS in 2008. Its partnership with Apple has allowed Globe to offer best-value deals for the complete iPhone and iPad product suites.

“Apple has been our strong partner since 2008 and this relationship has allowed Globe to provide our customers with the best deals for the complete Apple product portfolio. Backed by several years of experience in handling Apple mobile devices, Globe is better-equipped to deal with the specific needs that face iPhone users, particularly in mobile data. We have developed offers and services that cater to the mobile browsing habits of a wide variety of consumers,” Cu said.

As of end-September 2011, Globe postpaid subscribers reached 1.37-M, up 39% year-on-year. The company’s mobile data business is also a key growth driver, with revenues accounting for 52% of total mobile service revenues and growing by 11% to P20.8-billion on the back of new, affordable services that promote the use of mobile internet for social networking, search engine and email services.

Win 1 of 6 Blackberry Smartphones from Globe Postpaid!

Join the Globe Twitter Kris Kringle and get a chance to win 1 of 6 New Blackberry Phones!

Just tweet your Globe Kris Kringle photo with the following message: “#GlobeKrisKringle <Category Name> w/ the Best Christmas offer! http://bit.ly/GlobeKrisKringle”
Ex. “#GlobeKrisKringle SOMETHING FREE w/ the Best Christmas offer! http://bit.ly/GlobeKrisKringle “

Make sure that you tweet a photo of you holding an object under the following categories:

Dec 2-3: “Something Affordable”
Dec 4-5: “Something Black”
Dec 6-7: “Something Free”
Dec 8-9: “Something Sticky”
Dec 10-11: “Something Unlimited”
Dec 12-13: “Something Globe”

We will raffle off a new BlackBerry phone every 2 DAYS!

Check out our best Globe Blackberry Christmas offer! Have a Merry Christmas from Globe Postpaid My Super Plan!

Globe’s statement on NTC’s initiative to lower sms interconnection access rates

Globe supports the NTC initiative to lower sms interconnection access rates to 15 centavos and has fully complied with the NTC Memorandum. The lowering of domestic access charges on sms will allow Globe to offer more aggressive and competitive sms based unli, bulk and all network promos.

Right now, our customers are enjoying an average rate of close to 10 centavos per sms because of the inter and all network bulk unli offers, as well as our postpaid and consummable plan offerings.

The lower sms access rates will help provide greater benefits to our customers especially those who are currently using our unli services.

Shockfest with the Volcanoes: “Tweet and Watch” BlackBerry Giveaway!

Get a chance to win a brand new BlackBerry 8520 just by tweeting and watching the Philippines Volcanoes LIVE tonight at Flippish.com! Here’s how!

1. Tweet your dares or questions for the Philippine Volcanoes by using the hashtag #VOLCANOESvsSHOCK starting noon today. Include http://bit.ly/VolcanoWin on your tweet. You can post as many tweets as you can.

2. Watch “Happy Endings” on http://www.flippish.com tonight at 8-10PM for the Shockfest with the Philippine Volcanoes.

3. Wait for the announcement of the lucky 10 Twitter handles that may win the prize.

4. During the show, a Twitter task will be given to the 10 finalists.

5. The first person to do the Twitter task successfully with the hashtag #VOLCANOESvsSHOCK wins the BlackBerry phone!

6. Another surprise gift from Globe will be raffled off to one of tonight’s lucky viewers.

Globe announces network modernization and IT transformation program; company to invest US$790M

Globe Telecom, Inc. is pleased to announce that it will undertake a landmark mobile network modernization program over the next two to three years. The massive network upgrade is aimed at significantly improving network quality and customer experience, increase capacity, drive down costs, as well as prepare the network to meet the needs of customers today and in the future. Given the growing demand for bandwidth-heavy services, the modernization program will bring significant improvements to network capacity leading to improved reliability, ease of access and pervasive coverage. For the Company, this transformation effort will enable improved revenue growth prospects, savings in capital spend and operating expenses, as well as efficiencies resulting from synergies with a dedicated vendor partner. By adopting the latest technologies available today, Globe will be in a better position to provide the needs of its customers, secure and enhance its position in this highly competitive market.

The Company is at the same time initiating an IT transformation project to create a streamlined and integrated information environment, in response to changing market and business demands. The system transformation effort is a comprehensive re-engineering of Globe Telecom’s IT systems over the next two years. This will result in convergent billings and more innovative product development, faster response to customer queries and service requests by our stores and call centers. The endeavor will result in quicker time-to-market for new products that adapt to changing customer needs, and timely customer loyalty offers enabled by enhancements in customer segmentation and usage monitoring.

The Company is tapping external partners to help manage the modernization efforts. After thorough evaluation and extensive deliberations of vendor proposals, the Company has awarded the network modernization to Huawei given its technical expertise and strong track record of success. Globe Telecom expects to realize additional synergies with Huawei in establishing a Joint Innovation Center (JIC) that would bring the latest technological developments and help address the Company’s customization needs. Through the JIC, Globe will be able to learn network best practices and tap into the latest developments of the 17 research and development centers that Huawei has around the world. The Company expects to sign the definitive agreements with Huawei in the coming days.

For the IT systems upgrade, Globe has selected Amdocs as technology partner, given its extensive experience in business process transformation and access to leading edge technology. Globe expects to complete the definitive agreement with Amdocs by the first quarter of 2012. “Amdocs has delivered some of the industry’s most complex transformation projects to some of the largest players in the world, and we are excited to be able to draw on this experience for Globe,” said Eli Gelman, Amdocs’ chief executive officer. “This strategic transformation project significantly expands Amdocs and Globe Telecom’s relationship to support the mission critical operations of Globe. Our ability to deliver innovative and partner technology will be key to enable Globe to deliver service innovation to their nearly 30 million customers and establish operations that can support rapid growth.”

Globe will invest around US$700 million in the next five years to support the network modernization project, and another US$90 million to complete the IT transformation initiative. This will be the biggest and most significant investment that the Company has undertaken in the past two decades. The Company targets completion of the two projects over a period of 24 – 36 months.

The Company also announced that it will change its dividend pay-out policy to be at 75% to 90% of prior year’s core net income instead of reported net income. This will ensure that dividends will remain sustainable and yields competitive. The dividend policy change will take effect with the 2012 dividends, based on 2011 core net income. The network and IT transformation programs are expected to generate savings in operating expenses and capital expenditures totaling to US$180 million and US$210 million respectively over the next five years, in addition to the revenue uplift driven by the network quality improvements and increased capacity. Since it will involve replacing network equipment and IT systems, the Company expects that assets with net book values estimated at US$388 million will need to be decommissioned after modernization. This estimate is before any possible proceeds from resale and is still subject to actual site validation. All efforts will be taken to maximize the re-use of the existing equipment. The net book values of these non-useable assets will impact Globe’s profitability through an acceleration of depreciation over its remaining useful life until such time when the new, replacement capex is ready for service. Owing to its exceptional and non-recurring nature, this accelerated depreciation will not be considered in the determination of core net income. It will likewise not compromise cash flows nor the Company’s ability to declare dividends.

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#TodayIWill, Go lang nang Go!

We are today’s youth. We are neither children nor adults. And that to us is perfection. Free from yesterday’s innocence and tomorrow’s seriousness, we live in the here and now. And right now, we are taking our place. We are the stars of our own show, the “today” show. Today, we define what we are. And today, we redefine what is. Because we see things differently. We communicate with a new language. We face old problems with new solutions. Today is our day. And whatever we want to do, today, we will.

HELGA WEBER
blog.ditz-revolution.net
Today, I will learn how to manage my time and find a happy work-life balance

JACKIE GO
gojackiego.com
Today, I will be worry-free… for once!

ROCHELLE SY CHUA
rochellesychua.com
Today I will set a goal and stick to my plans!

FAITH SALAZAR
tanggera.com
Today I’ll make sure to choose what I eat to achieve a healthier lifestyle!

ALVIN CHUA
cheftonio.com
Today I will worry less and explore more!

LLOYD SALAC
thelostboylloyd.com
Today, I will practice my freedom and travel around the Philippines. I want to show the world that the Philippines is such a beautiful, beautiful place and I want them to tell their friends that the Philippines is the “Pearl of the Orient,” we have so many hidden gems and we are in the map. Today, I will help contribute in the efforts for the Philippines to regain its lost glory, especially in Manila and Mindanao.

PATRIZHA MARTINEZ
Marketing Manager
SHOT Magazine
Today, I will definitely start my proper diet and thorough exercise. It’s been long overdue and since I have enjoyed all the food trips and holiday treats, I know it’s time to get back into shape. My busy schedule and stressful work hours have been holding me back but this time, I will reward all my hard work with an effort to stay healthy and starting going back to being fit. Health is beauty and today, my eyes are set on that.

ERIC FAUSTINO
Server, Mary Grace Restaurant
Today, I will celebrate my adventurous spirit. I will find ways to do what I’ve always wanted to like climb the mountains, explore the wilderness … that is where I’ll achieve freedom

ADE MAGNAYE
ademagnaye.com
Social media specialist
Today I will start to visualize what I want in life and work hard to achieve my goals!

ARVIN ELLO
vintersections.com
Today, I will try to reawaken my habit of reading poetry and continue the things I’m very passionate about—Arts & Cinema. These are the things that keep me alive!

Globe Prepaid supports the Filipino youth as they chase their dreams and live in the moment; erase their fears and celebrate their freedom; execute their missions with passion and enjoy their just rewards; believe in themselves and feel secure about their accomplishments, no matter how small.

In every step of their journey, Globe Prepaid, with its Super Suite of products and services, will make their “Today I Will” statements easier to achieve. With Globe Prepaid, the youth can break free from all restrictions so they can Go lang nang go!