MANILA, Philippines – Ayala-led Globe Telecom Inc. further expanded its presence overseas by offering telecommunication services in Canada to cater to almost one million Filipino permanent resident and transients.
Rizza Maniego-Eala, head for International Business Group of Globe, said the company has extended the reach of its international inbound calling offer DUO International to over 900,000 Filipinos living and working in Canada.
“Almost 90 percent of Filipinos in Canada are permanent migrants who are unable to visit family and friends back home as frequent as those in other countries, and we are proud to be able to give them an innovative and affordable way to keep in touch with loved ones in the Philippines for less than CAD$1 a day,” Maniego-Eala stressed.
Canada is one of the top countries worldwide that houses the most number of overseas Filipinos making it a viable market for the telco’s roster of international services.
DUO International is also offered in the US, Korea, and the United Kingdom.
DUO Canada is a subscription service that assigns a virtual Canadian landline number to a registered Globe number in the Philippines. This allows Filipinos in Canada to call their loved ones in the country through their virtual Canadian landline number.
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Calls to the virtual Canadian landline number assigned to the Globe subscriber would be charged at domestic Canadian call rates, effectively lowering call costs.
“This allows Filipinos in Canada to contact loved ones at a much affordable rate compared to standard IDD charges to the Philippines,” she said.
With DUO Canada, Filipinos working abroad would no longer need extra call cards or Internet connection to call loved ones in the Philippines.
“They can call the Philippines anytime, anywhere they are using any Canadian phone. They can also choose which Canadian landline number will be assigned to the Globe subscriber in the Philippines,” she added.
Available landline numbers are for Calgary, Durham, Edmonton, London, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Windsor and Winnipeg.
Open to Globe Postpaid, Prepaid and TM subscribers, DUO Canada is available for P999 or CAD$25 per month of subscription. The DUO Canada number is valid for 30 days.
Recently, Globe opened UK Globetel Limited to offer various telecommunications services such as voice, SMS, MMS, load top-up and mobile data to Filipinos residing in and visiting the United Kingdom.
Globe reported a 14-percent increase in its subscriber base to 36.1 million in the first half of the year from 30.1 million in the same period last year.
The company expects improved services by the end of the year as it expects to complete its $700-million network transformation program and $90-million information technology (IT) upgrade.
