GOMO: Two Months After
Non-expiring data gives a peace of mind.
GOMO, the newest player so far as I'm aware of in the mobile internet space, has taken my social media sponsored ads feed by storm. It's definitely not just me, it's somewhat popular because of its selling point of non-expiring data. I've seen some of my friends consider purchasing the service and give it a spin, with a few who already bought the SIM and had started using it. Their sales pitch interested me, and I decided to order one and see how it goes. Now over two months later, it's time to give some thoughts on my experience with them, and what it means for the consumers right now amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and for the future.
The new player
GOMO is not only in The Philippines as they can be found in a few other countries across the globe. As of writing, GOMO is currently present in Singapore, Thailand, Ireland, and in Australia. The branding logo and style might differ from country to country, but the common thread among them is their data-focused deals at low prices compared to the competition.
GOMO is an MVNO, or a Mobile Virtual Network Operator, meaning that they have the internet service without the infrastructure to go with it. This is the reason on how they are usually significantly cheaper than the more conventional Mobile Network Operator (MNO) such as Smart or Globe. For consumers, this can be seen as a big win: lower prices with the same quality as the bigger providers. As is with everything, there are caveats to consider when choosing an MVNO or an MNO.
Compromises to consider
For one, an MVNO will sign a contract under the MNO to use their infrastructure - as discussed above, they do not have or own the communications frequencies, making their service cheaper as a result- which means whatever the quality of the MNO's infrastructure is, that's likely the same quality that one would experience upon patronizing the service. In this case, GOMO runs on Globe Telecom's infrastructure. So whatever signal quality one might encounter on their locale under Globe, expect GOMO to perform identically on the same circumstances.
Another possible compromise is the lack of subsidy for phone contracts, meaning that you can't take ownership of a phone at a monthly price along with a plan. One must purchase a phone first before being able to use the service, as opposed to being able to obtain the phone with the provider's service at a singular monthly payment.
A reminder: GOMO is a prepaid-only service, so it's up to the user themselves to enact their due diligence and monitor the data being consumed. Then again, seeing as how there are a lot of prepaid users here in the Philippines, this shouldn't be much of a problem. Mitigating this further is with the inclusion of an app which tracks spent data and additional purchases which are available on the Apple App Store, the Google Play Store, and the Huawei AppGallery.
All about the offerings
When GOMO was launched back in October 2020, they gave an introductory price of ₱199 for the 25GB of data along with a free delivery and SIM charge which would normally cost ₱299. This deal continued up to January 15, 2021, where the price now reflected its actual sticker price. Top-ups on data was ₱299 even before the deal ended.
The current offerings GOMO showcases as of writing are as follows:
SIM and data:
SIM + 25GB Data, no expiry - ₱299
25GB Data (top-up), no expiry - ₱299
25GB Data + 500 Texts + 100 Min. Calls (All networks), no expiry - ₱499
Calls and texts credits:
30 Texts (All networks), no expiry - 0.2GB
6 Mins. Calls (All networks), no expiry - 0.2GB
50 Texts + 5 Mins. Calls (All networks), no expiry - 0.5GB
It’s noted that availing plans relating to texts and calls is counted against the available data allotment and is not usually purchased using money, unless one purchases the ₱499 option.
The use case
I only ever needed to use GOMO whenever I'm out of the house, which seldom happens, as one expects during a pandemic, though the time does come for me to leave the house at times, for matters such as: banking, groceries, or business-related matters. For that, my typical use case mainly involves browsing through social media - with video, forum browsing, reading tech articles and so on. It's relatively light as I do not game on my phone, nor does it have any games on it.
It comes as no surprise that whenever I spend money for data on Smart and Globe, I do not consume the entire data allotment before the deadline; wasted data galore. It’s why having data that doesn't expire a jovial prospect - no deadlines, no wasted data.
My usage experience
Let's get this out out the door: the quality is fine, acceptable even. Upload and download speeds are great, and connection quality is somewhat consistent. Though there will be times where the signal will drop considerably. Aside from GOMO, I regularly use my Smart and Globe - now used for texts and calls upon relegating GOMO for data-only use. GOMO will drop to two bars out of four while Globe (GOMO's network source) and Smart would remain at the full four bars. Network speeds for upload and download were consistently just under 5 Mbps, not that fast but nothing to compain against.
In the end though, it's not about the speeds I was after, rather it was the sales pitch on non-expiring data. I was sold with that pitch, bought a SIM, and used it for data-only affairs. In that respect, GOMO delivers.
Regarding the text and call aspect of the service, I have not used it during my two-month drive as I only use the network for internet data. Though a reasonable metric of approximation on the service is that: if the quality of Globe Telecom is good or bad in a certain area, then GOMO will behave just like it
Thoughts on the service
It's not the network provider that descended from the heavens to bestow upon us game-changing ways to use our mobile data, rather it's the network provider that gave us Filipinos the option to commit to a service that delivers non-expiring data at a somewhat affordable price while giving us the ability to activate a small text and call plan without having to spend extra money on the side.
We've gotten used to the promos from the two providers that offer texts and calls with data that end after a certain period, assuming one is not on a postpaid plan, and there will come a time where it's either all consumed before the deadline or underutilized when that deadline comes. GOMO is that small step in a service that caters to a crowd that doesn't need to worry about their data to the megabyte, or to the crowd that sometimes or consistently underutilize the data plan that they have. Rather, GOMO gives us the barebones - the pandesal - and it's up to us on what we'll put on that pandesal to make it fit our use cases. It may not look elegant, but I believe that there is a fit and purpose for this kind of service for Filipinos.
Again, I'm sure that this type of service would fit for a certain demographic of Filipinos - people who either consume data allotment quickly or underutilize them, of which I'm on the latter. It's not for everyone with its barebones approach to adding calls and texts to the service without any bonuses or its relatively pricey data reload when the time comes, but more competition in this space is sure to either drive prices of other providers down or give more lucrative perks and bonuses to keep subscribers. GOMO may be using Globe's infrastructure, but it's still a separate player nonetheless.
Data and going forward
Data promos with expiry dates have been with us for years, and will continue to be for at least the foreseeable future. It's been engraved in our minds, and with an ever-connected country in a pandemic, we will still patronize them as just another weekly routine. But one might never know, we could maybe see those expiry dates go away. Back in 2017, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) jointly created a memorandum that extended the validity of prepaid load from 30 days to one year. So if there was ever a push by members of government or a significant want by the people, it may as well happen even if it would take years to gain traction.
We've seen a proposal just last October 2020 for the implementation of a mandatory roll-over of unused mobile data with a validity for up to the end of the year, in which rebates would be provided if still unused by that period. A more recent development is the formation of a senate panel to investigate the existing policy of expiring promos regarding texts, calls, and data, where one of its goals is to get rid of those expiry dates altogether, with the October proposal mentioned earlier being part of the panel's discussions.
There might me some political traction against expiring data promos slowly gaining speed, but one shouldn't really count on it alone. These discussions, panels, and proposals take years to get through the government, and voicing these woes publicly won't really speed them up. The solution right now is to use the service that provides these wishes - using GOMO. The steep ₱299 entry price might be a tough pill to swallow, as we've gotten used to ₱40 SIM cards, but sometimes the way to save some money on data we might underutilize is to have data that doesn’t expire at all. GOMO isn't a "no downsides" provider, they have their pros and cons after all, but it's worth it for the right person. If you were to ask me, I say GOMO is a good service.
Like I said before, whether having a data promo over a service which revolves around a simple data plan with not much else going for it initially is up to the individual. The upfront cost and subsequent reloads are still fixed at ₱299 right now. So if the former yields a better value to you, then go ahead and use it. In the end, more competition benefits everyone.
Disclaimer: I was not paid nor sponsored to write this piece regarding GOMO and their service. The SIM card was paid personally through their website and is a retail unit. The thoughts above are all mine, following over two months of usage both indoors and outdoors. Outdoor usage was done while strictly following COVID-19 guidelines.