News
Market of 80 million opens to GFG:Mobile
19 June 2006
GFG Group has signed a reseller agreement for GFG:Mobile with Infocom, a 99% owned subsidiary of the largest Telco in the Philippines.
Infocom is part of the e-services unit of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), the largest mobile and fixed-line operator in the Philippines. The agreement will see Infocom sell GFG:Mobile throughout the South East Asia region.
Infocom will be a strong source of leads – primarily through its relationship with PLDT – for GFG:Mobile, says GFG Philippines country manager Roy Ebora.
“Infocom started life providing pre-paid internet services, but advances in wired and wireless broadband technology mean Philippine households now pay less than US$15 per month for broadband internet access. This has made it more economical to move to broadband, which has slowed demand for pre-paid services,” he says.
“Infocom has responded by transforming itself into a systems integrator. This is an astute move, because Infocom has exceptionally broad and deep skills in Java development and web-based application development from its experience in internet-based service provision. The synergy between GFG Group and Infocom is excellent, and the opportunities for both companies are substantial.”
Infocom is currently bidding on a project for the Philippines Charity Sweepstakes Office that will allow Filipinos to play Lotto using a mobile phone. The need to visit a Lotto outlet will disappear - even winnings will be paid directly to an account nominated by the customer using their mobile handset. If the bid is successful, GFG:Mobile will provide the application environment.
There are 80 million people in the Philippines, and 50% of them have mobile phones. 60% of all mobile phone users are SMART (a wholly-owned subsidiary of PLDT) subscribers.
