Globe brings Japan-based Filipinos closer to home

THERE is much pushing the envelope even further for Globe Telecom in making an already small world ever—ever!—smaller for Filipinos, with the leading wireless communications provider partnering this time with leading Japanese telco Brastel to better service, through cheaper but quality IDD calls, Japan-based Filipinos in reaching their loved ones here.

Brastel-subscribed overseas Filipinos in Japan can now avail themselves of per-minute calls for as low as ¥20 (from landline to mobile) or ¥35 (from mobile to mobile) to Globe and Touch Mobile subscribers in the Philippines, which are a shy half the cost of other offers in the competitive market.

“Japan has always been a very important market for Globe, given that there are around 250,000 Filipinos there and that it is among our top tourist destinations,” Senior Vice President for Globe International Business Rizza Maniego-Eala noted in a news conference.

Stressing that it is really working hard on giving the best value to its customers, Globe sees this partnership with Brastel, which has been serving the foreign market in Japan for over 19 years, as just another move toward strengthening its position in serving Filipinos in Japan.

“What is exciting is Brastel is a pioneer in rechargeable call cards that are available in 44,000 outlets, such as FamilyMart, K-Mart and Lawson,” she added. “We all know that the Japanese market has convenience stores in every corner, so that means it’s going to be very accessible.”

Globe sees no better way to crash into the Filipino market in Japan than working with the Tokyo-quartered Tier-1, Tier-2 licensed Brastel, which has a venerable and pioneering distribution network in Japan.

The Japanese telco sees the Philippines as a key market for growth and Globe cannot miss on making sense of this concerted effort, maximizing every service opportunity that targets the Filipino.

“Since our founding in 1996, we at Brastel have aimed to give our customers a voice by providing them with the best packages and offers,” Brastel CEO Kendi Kawai said in a statement.

“Through our partnership with Globe, we are delighted to enable stronger connections between overseas Filipinos in Japan and their family and friends back home.”

Notwithstanding the growing ubiquity of high-speed Internet and VoIP-based platforms, such as Line, Viber and Skype, Eala said call cards have a “substantial” customer segment in Japan, what with a remarkable average telecom expenditure of Filipinos there at ¥2,000 a month.

The partnership with Brastel is just one of Globe’s hundred-odd different services to the same market, or wherever there is a Filipino. Have we seen the best yet?

Aside from Globe’s excellent distribution points in international airports, the wee Globe-Brastel call card that encapsulates it all is available for free in Filipino stores across Japan or via Smart Pit payment gateway at partner-convenience stores, such as FamilyMart, Mini Stop, Circle K-Mart and Lawson. It can also be topped up through the Brastel web site using a credit card in denominations of ¥2,000 to ¥10,000.

By Vernon Velasco