Net mobile : links Sun Cellular in the Philippines to Direct Carrier Billing for Google Play™

Sun now joins Smart Communications to offer its Philippine customers the ability to pay for purchases in Google Play Store directly via their mobile phone bill.

Dusseldorf, 08. September 2015 -

Digitel Mobile Philippines, Inc. (DMPI), through its mobile brand Sun, has commissioned NTT DOCOMO subsidiary net mobile AG (net-m), the world's leading provider of Google Carrier Billing integrations, to implement the service, following net-m's success with its sister company Smart Communications (Smart).

Sun and Smart are both owned by the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), one of the Philippines' largest mobile telecommunications companies. With Smart and Sun, PLDT now has 55%(1) of the mobile postpaid market in terms of subscriber base. Now 2.8 million(2) mobile telephone subscribers are on the combined network in a country with a mobile penetration of 115%(3).

The Philippines has always been a very dynamic mobile market, accounting for more than 10%(4) of global text messages at its peak. At the same time, its mobile operators were generating the highest proportion of non-voice revenues in the world.

Sun is one of the Philippine´s leading mobile brands, with a total mobile subscriber base of 15.6m. In 2014, Sun had the fastest growing postpaid subscriber base in the country, growing 16% year by year(5).

Mobile phones will remain an essential part of Filipinos' daily life due to the multiple functions that these devices offer to users. After reporting volume growth of 9% in 2013, the market for mobile phones rose by 12% in 2014 and is set to rise again in 2015 . Filipinos continue to prefer smartphones as prices of the latter drop, making it affordable to all middle-income buyers. Another factor for rapid growth is that credit card penetration in the Philippines is very low.

"At the moment Sun Cellular's sustained growth can be attributed to new services, gadget bundles and content offers it launched in 2014" explains a delighted Mellissa Limcaoco Head at Innovation and Product Development at Sun Cellular.

"With Direct Carrier Billing more of our users can download paid apps, digital books, local e-magazine titles and e-pins without a credit card - anytime, anywhere" and continues "net-m's Google Carrier Billing connection will only accelerate this trend".

Sebastian Böhm, Senior Vice President and Executive Director of payment solutions of net mobile AG is pleased with the successful connection: "Sun's connection is another milestone. Millions more Filipinos will get access to paid content in Google Play for the first time."

World's largest number of Google Carrier Billing integrations
The Düsseldorf based net mobile AG has connected more mobile operators to Google Play than any integrator worldwide. As of today there are more than 20 mobile operators globally offering Google Carrier Billing with the help of net mobile AG - with new operators being added every month. Thanks to years of expertise in this area and close collaboration with Google™, the specialist for mobile payment now serves approximately 220 million customers globally with this one-click payment method.

(1) http://suncellular.com.ph/news/2015/03/24/Sun_Cellular_has_fastest_growing_postpaid_subscriber_base#.VY0U3GAebnd

(2) http://pldt.com/docs/default-source/presentations/2015/pldt's-1q2015-presentation.pdf?sfvrsn=0

(3) https://ondeviceresearch.com/blog/philippines-mobile-internet-trends

(4) http://www.budde.com.au/Research/Philippines-Mobile-Communications-Forecasts-and-Broadcasting-Market.html

(5) http://suncellular.com.ph/news/2015/03/24/Sun_Cellular_has_fastest_growing_postpaid_subscriber_base#.VY0U3GAebnd

Google, Google Play and Android are trademarks of Google Inc.

Digitel Mobile Philippines, Inc. (DMPI), a member of the PLDT Group, is one of the Philippines' leading mobile telecommunications companies. Its mobile brand, Sun, offers a wide range of service innovations for mobile telephony from voice, messaging and international roaming services, to wireless broadband and value-added services for consumers and businesses alike. As a renowned frontrunner in the industry, Sun has been notable for significant breakthroughs like unlimited services and the Anti-Bill Shock charging system which continue to encourage the market to embrace mobile technology. It has received accolades over the years with awards such as the Philippines' Mobile Service Provider of the Year for 2011 and 2012 by the esteemed Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific Best Practices Awards in Singapore.

net mobile AG is a leading international full-service provider of payment solutions and mobile value added services. The company, founded in November 2000, is regarded as an innovation leader in the marketplace. Clients worldwide include national and global mobile telecommunication providers, media companies, online shopping portals, brand name companies and television networks, for which complete white label solutions such as direct carrier billing and mobile television services are provided. Since December 2009, NTT DOCOMO, INC. is the main shareholder with over 87% share ownership.www.net-mobile.com.