Globe launched in Cebu last week its Globe DUO service, a combination mobile and landline service that gives subscribers two numbers—a mobile phone number and a portable landline number—using just one subscriber identification module (SIM).

With Globe DUO, consumers get to make and receive unlimited calls to and from any landline number within a certain coverage area. Globe DUO subscribers can also make unlimited calls to other subscribers of the service.

The service is initially available for pospaid Globe subscribers in Manila and Cebu. Today, May 25, Globe will open the service for the first time to prepaid users. Globe Telecom Consumer Wireless Business Group head Ferdinand dela Cruz said they chose Cebu for today’s introduction of the service to prepaid use.

LANDLINE AND MOBILE PHONE. Globe Telecom Consumer Wireless Business Group head Ferdinand dela Cruz talks about Globe DUO during its launch in Cebu.

“Globe is breaking the barriers between mobile and landline by coming up with this revolutionary 2-in-1 service,” dela Cruz said during Thursday’s launch at the Waterfront Hotel in Lahug, Cebu City.

“Globe DUO is a testament of our commitment to continuously provide our customers with the latest wireless services in the world at the most affordable price and offer them every convenient means of connecting to one another,” Globe president and chief executive office Ernest Cu said in a press statement.

Globe DUO is the company’s answer to PLDT’s Landline Plus service. It is a virtual shot in the bow for what had been a long unchallenged innovative service.

With PLDT Landline Plus and Globe DUO, the word “landline” becomes an adjective merely for the way calls are charged and phone numbers are formatted. Because when you think about it, portable “landline” phones are really mobile phones.

To enroll with Globe DUO, postpaid users need to pay P399 for 30 days. This will be charged on top of their Globe monthly plan and comes with an initial 90-day subscription. If you already have a post-paid subscription with the company, you can just activate the Globe DUO service by texting DUO (area of service) ON to 8888.

If you’re a post-paid subscriber in Cebu, just send DUO CEB ON to 8888. The system will assist you in subscribing to the service. You will get an SMS message containing the terms and conditions of the service which you have to accept by sending yes as a reply.

After you accept the terms, you will then get a message that will contain your “landline” number. The service becomes immediately active and you can call and get calls from any landline number in Cebu, whether Globe or PLDT.

Dela Cruz said Globe invested on an advance call management platform to detect which type of call is being made. He also said Globe is upgrading its network capacity “ahead of demand.”

Prepaid users in Cebu can enroll themselves into Globe DUO by texting DUO CEB 125 or DUO CEB 350. The amounts are for the two prepaid subscription plans: P125 for five days and P350 for 14 days.

When I asked a Globe official why they didn’t have an option for monthly prepaid subscriptions, he said they are encouraging users to get a Globe postpaid plan so that they can enjoy freebies that come with their monthly subscriptions. With the service, Globe is apparently out to expand its subscriber base.

While it’s prepaid services may be more expensive than PLDT Landline Plus, which has a P300 monthly plan, Globe allows unlimited calling to landlines and other DUO users. In PLDT Landline Plus, you have to pay by the minute once you exceed your plan’s free allocation. And unlike PLDT Landline Plus, Globe DUO is just an add-on to your mobile phone subscription. You don’t need a separate SIM and phone for it.