Philippine number two mobile operator Globe Telecom entered into a co-branding agreement with local handset maker Cherry Mobile to launch prepaid SIM and handset bundles.

The prepaid offering, called Cherry Prepaid powered by Globe, aims to combine high-quality mobile phones and prepaid service into an affordable package, Globe said. Three bundles are available: the PHP399 ($8.42) Lite, PHP999 Big Time and PHP1,699 Partner packages. Users can also choose the SIM-only option for PHP29.

Cherry Mobile shipped the most handsets in the first six months of the year in the Philippines, taking a 17 per cent market share, ahead of Samsung with a 14 per cent share, according to IDC.

Globe senior advisor for consumer business Dan Horan expects the mass-market, co-branding agreement to attract two to three million additional prepaid customers.

The operator also tied up with Chinese device manufacturer Oppo to give prepaid customers purchasing its devices a free prepaid SIM loaded with internet access. Customers buying Oppo R7 series handsets receive the SIM with 100MB data allowance per month for two months.

The moves are part of Globe’s efforts to boost smartphone and internet penetration. Its smartphone penetration jumped from 25 per cent to 35 per cent over the past year and is forecast to hit 40 per cent by the end of the year, according to GSMA Intelligence.

Over the past year its data user base increased 126 per cent to 18.6 million, and its mobile data revenue in Q3 increased 39 per cent year-on-year. The operator said data traffic expanded 89 per cent during the period, while data revenue accounted for 43 per cent of total service revenue.