ABS-CBN Mobile

ABS-CBN Mobile (stylized as ABS-CBNmobile) was a cellular telephony service provider in the Philippines owned and operated by ABS-CBN Convergence, a subsidiary of ABS-CBN. ABS-CBNmobile formerly uses the network infrastructures of Globe Telecom under a network-sharing agreement which allows ABS-CBN and Globe to share frequencies, switches, servers, and transmitters. ABS-CBNmobile formerly offers prepaid and postpaid SMS, voice, data, wireless landline connection (postpaid only), and access to premium and exclusive contents of iWant TV.

ABS-CBN Mobile
TypeMobile virtual network operator
IndustryCellular network
FoundedNovember 16, 2013 (2013-11-16)
DefunctDecember 1, 2018 (2018-12-01)
Headquarters
ELJ Communications Center, Eugenio Lopez Drive, Diliman, Quezon City
,
Philippines
Key people
Fernando Villar (Head)
Products
  • iWant
  • Voice
  • SMS
  • Data packages/promos
Services
OwnerABS-CBN Convergence

Globe Telecom and ABS-CBN announced that it will shut down the service by November 30, 2018 due to income losses and stiff competition from Telecommunications providers such as PLDT/Smart. The service was officially discontinued on December 1, 2018.

History

On May 28, 2013, entertainment and media conglomerate ABS-CBN and wireless telecommunications giant Globe Telecom signed a historic network-sharing agreement which allows the two companies to share assets such as frequencies, switches, servers, and transmitters and allows ABS-CBN to offer its own prepaid and postpaid SMS, voice, and data services to its own targeted market. ABS-CBN will then pay Globe based on the amount of bandwidth used and for other technical and support expenses. Also part of the deal was the sale of Lopez Holding's Bayan Telecommunications (BayanTel) to Globe through a debt purchase agreement. The National Telecommunications Commission approved the deal on June 8, 2013.[1] ABS-CBN Corporation on the other hand has announced that it would invest 2 to 3 billion pesos in the next two years to the said service.[2][3][4][5][6]

The mobile network service was supposed to be launched in early September but it was postponed due to operational issues.[7][8] On November 16, 2013 during the "Tulong Na, Tabang Na, Tayo Na" benefit concert of ABS-CBN for the Typhoon Haiyan victims at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, the service was officially launched to the public. Actor Piolo Pascual stated that the first 100 thousand sim cards were sent to the survivors of the said typhoon in the Visayas region for free to help restore communications among the members of the family. On November 18, 2013, a television advertisement featuring Kim Chiu, Piolo Pascual, Enrique Gil and John Lloyd Cruz was officially previewed.[9]

On December 11, 2013, the first ABS-CBNmobile store and service center opened at the ground floor level of ELJ Communications Center. ABS-CBN Corporation chairman Eugenio Lopez III and its president and CEO Charo Santos-Concio was present during the opening along with celebrity endorsers Julia Montes and Erich Gonzales.

ABS-CBNmobile has partnered with smartphone brands CloudFone, Huawei, and 0+ USA for smartphone packages with pre-installed ABS-CBNmobile sim card, mobile apps (such as iWant TV), and a limited trial period of the ABS-CBNmobile services. ABS-CBNmobile also partnered with KakaoTalk for free online messaging as well as to Viber, Line, WeChat, and WhatsApp for paid online messaging. ABS-CBNmobile also partnered with SM Supermalls, Walter Mart Philippines, 7-Eleven Philippines, Mini Stop Philippines, Vmobile, Telepreneur, Corp., ULoad, and Load Central for the expansion of ABS-CBNmobile sim cards, prepaid load cards, and postpaid payment centers. On December 1, 2016 ABS-CBNmobile launched their own 4G LTE service. As of 2016, ABS-CBNmobile has a subscriber base of 904,000 bringing its losses to 600 million pesos down from 700 million pesos a year ago.[10]

On July 16, 2018, ABS-CBN and Globe Telecom announced that it will not renew their network-sharing agreement after assessing its mobile business model as financially unsustainable, making ABS-CBNmobile shut down during the year. The two companies will remain committed for partnership for content sharing using its existing resources.[11] And it was officially posted on their website and social media accounts on October 16, 2018, the shutdown of the mobile network-sharing agreement and services until November 30, 2018 at 11:59 PM. From December 1, 2018 onwards, it was officially discontinued of all services and the network signal from Globe will be permanently deactivated until further notice.[12][13][14] Meanwhile, all ABS-CBN mobile prepaid SIM subscribers can claim a new free SIM with 2GB of data and access to KBO online in selected Smart partner outlets. The qualified subsidy as all ABS-CBN mobile prepaid subscribers with active SIM and receive an SIM swap message from ABS-CBN mobile.

References
  1. Agcaoili, Lawrence (8 June 2013). "NTC okays Globe-ABS-CBN network sharing agreement". Philippine Star. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  2. "Broadcast network ABS-CBN forays into telecom via Globe". GMA News. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  3. "ABS-CBN mobile phone service to arrive by year-end". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  4. Gomez, Lailani P. (21 October 2013). "ABS-CBN delays launch of mobile business to fix support system". Manila Standard Today. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  5. Montecillo, Paulo (28 May 2013). "ABS-CBN forays into telco business". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  6. Guererro, Alora. "Smart, Globe... and now, ABS-CBN Mobile?". Yahoo! Philippines. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  7. Amolejar, Darwin. "ABS-CBN unlikely to launch mobile phone service this year". InterAksyon. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  8. Agcaoili, Lawrence (21 October 2013). "Operational issues delay launch of ABS-CBN mobile". Philippine Star. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  9. "Biz Buzz: Oops … ABS-CBN telco goes live". Philippine Daily Inquirer. 20 November 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  10. Delavimn, Imee Charlee C. (23 March 2017). "ABS-CBN expects mobile unit to break even". BusinessWorld Online.
  11. "ABS-CBN Convergence and Globe explore new product synergies as they wind down the network-sharing agreement". abscbnpr.com. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  12. "ABS-CBN Convergence Globe Wind Down Mobile Sharing Agreement". ABS-CBN News. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  13. "ABS-CBN Mobile End of Service". ABS-CBN Mobile. 16 October 2018. Archived from the original on 16 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  14. "ABS-CBNmobile to shut by end-Nov". BusinesWorld Online. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
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