The telco war in the social media world continues.
Globe Telecom and Smart Communications have each announced free access to popular social media services.
This morning, Smart announced that its subscribers can now enjoy free access to Instagram, whenever they subscribe to top prepaid offers or the latest postpaid plans from the mobile services provider.
READ SMART’s FREE INSTAGRAM STORY HERE
Smart’s announcement was followed by Globe Telecom’s unveiling of its free Facebook access during a press event.
Facebook with Free Data
Globe is offering its customers Facebook with free data with a new in-app feature that allows customers to choose the type of Facebook access, Free Facebook for 7 Days for TM customers, and Free Facebook with a GoSURF subscription.
According to Facebook’s official data, 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.
Facebook with free data is a zero-rated, lightweight version of Facebook with limited access to photos and videos.
To use Facebook with free data, Globe customers will download and launch the latest version of Facebook for Android. They can also visit www.facebook.com in a browser on their mobile. They will then be prompted 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. Those who opt in can begin browsing Facebook for free.
People using Facebook with free data will also get a data control button at the top of Facebook, which lets them easily switch between the free and the full versions of Facebook at any time. This button clearly indicates which version of Facebook the customer is currently using, and can be dismissed so as not to disturb browsing.
When a customer clicks a photo within Facebook, an external link, or any content that leads outside the Facebook app, they will be notified that they are leaving Facebook with free data and will be charged for data usage.
Free Facbook via TM Choose-Your-Own-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.
With GoSURF, 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.
