Globe partners with Facebook for free three-month service

Globe Telecom is giving its over 36 million subscribers free access to Facebook on mobile phones for the next three months in time for Christmas season and the country's booming smartphone usage.Starting 31 October, users can post, like, comment, chat, add friends, upload photos, share posts, and more on Facebook without the need for Wi-Fi or data plans whether via the Facebook app or Facebook’s mobile site m.facebook.com.In an attempt to win new customers and please current ones, the first-of-its-kind service is available in feature phones and smart phones subscribed to Globe Prepaid, Postpaid and TM.Globe CEO Ernest Cu and Peter Bithos, senior advisor for consumer business at Globe, flew in to Silicon Valley to work with Facebook engineers for new features helping users to avoid additional charges and unobtrusively offer its own data plans to view external links.This include No billshock or “nakaw load”, where users are notified if they will incur data charges once a link that leads out of Facebook is clicked and a one-click registration to the data plan of choice to continue browsing without having to leave the site. Customers can even loan a 10MB data plan for only P10 which will be deducted on their succeeding top-up."This service testifies how Globe is transforming itself beyond just an access carrier. Globe is striving to be a leading digital brand catering to the needs of digital Filipinos who need to be connected to their social circles around the world, ” Bithos said.Globe has been democratizing internet use for Filipinos in its partnerships since last year. In November, Globe Telecom became the first carrier in the world to launch Google Free Zone, which allows prepaid users access Gmail, Google+ and Google search on mobile phones without a data plan.