Fresh from a prominent acknowledgment of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain for pioneering free internet in the Philippines with Free Facebook, Globe Telecom once again gained international recognition after winning in the Best Mobile Service category of the 19th Annual Global Mobile Awards by the GSM Association (GSMA), the global trade association for the world’s 800 mobile networks. .
Under the said category, Globe received the Best Network-based Solution for Serving Customers Award for Globe Prepaid GoSakto: Create Your Own Promo, beating entries from telco operators worldwide such as Avea for Location-Based Push Notification Service, LG Uplus for U+Box, SpatialBuzz and Telefonica UK for the Trusted Network Programme powered by SpatialBuzz, and TurkCell for TurkCell SMS+.
According to the participating judges, the submission was impressive because “it delivers the innovative pricing features to the prepaid market that have previously been confined to the postpaid market – giving many more customers the ability to personalize their services and tailor them to their needs.”
With Globe Prepaid GoSakto, customers can create their own promo bundles by making a simple series of choices – which service component/s (voice, SMS, mobile internet) they want in their bundle, how much of voice, SMS and mobile internet they need, and for how long they want it valid – via an easy-to-use menu on USSD. GoSakto added to the value of USD by improving its revenue-generating potential, providing the user interface through which customers can create thousands of possible promo bundles via a step-by-step creation process, guiding them through a decision tree, resulting to one of the many possible resulting promo bundle combinations.
Catering to the digital lifestyle of prepaid subscribers, Globe has recently launched a GoSakto mobile application available to Android and iOS smartphone users.
“This is a wonderful citation from the GSMA as we believe that what we have done for GoSakto is truly reflective of the innovative spirit we have at Globe Telecom. We offer this award to our customers who continue to inspire us in creating wonderful products for them. Globe Prepaid GoSakto is a groundbreaking service in the Philippines, allowing prepaid promos to become personalized and customizable, and helping us capture our customers’ digital lifestyle,” said Globe Chief Operating Advisor Peter Bithos who received the award at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on behalf of Globe.
Globe won the category on best in network-based platform or solution for delivering services to mobile users. Entries for the Best Network-Based Solution for Serving Customers were judged on the following criteria: uniqueness and innovation behind the service, enhancement of existing value added services that a network can deliver, scalability of the solution and interoperability with all devices and customers on other networks where appropriate, techniques or functionality that make the service easy for subscribers to use, the degree to which the platform or solution can be quickly and efficiently deployed into the network, the anticipated return of investment (ROI) for this new service or evidence of customer take up, and how the service uses capability within the mobile network.
More than 175 independent analysts, journalists, academics and subject matter experts throughout the world who participated in the judging process, including the chief technology officers of 14 mobile operators, selected Globe Prepaid GoSakto as best in its category.
“Now in the 19th year, the Global Mobile Awards once again showcase the outstanding level of innovation and creative products and services being developed across a diverse and growing industry,” said John Hoffman, CEO, GSMA Ltd. “With more than 680 high caliber entries this year, the competition was stronger than ever and it is a significant achievement to have been honored today. The GSMA would like to warmly congratulate all Global Mobile Awards winners and recognize all those who took part for continuing to drive mobile communications into the future.”
The Annual Global Mobile Awards uniquely offers organizations the opportunity to showcase the latest mobile products, services and initiatives to the world. It was established to reflect the most relevant areas of mobile evolution. It also showcases the different level of innovation from devices to applications, technology and services and the continued growth in value and benefits that mobility brings to users, industries, businesses, communities and economies.
The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide. Spanning more than 220 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world’s mobile operators with 250 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and Internet companies, as well as organizations in industry sectors such as financial services, healthcare, media, transport and utilities.