Internet connectivity has become more crucial in our daily lives in how we live, work, and study. However, a large part of the country and a significant number of households are still incapable of paying for the monthly obligation required for a fast and reliable high-speed Internet connection brought by fiber optic cables.
With the problem of providing consistent Internet access to the lower-income segment in mind, two publicly listed telecommunications companies are trying to solve it using prepaid fiber Internet services.
In this article, let’s discuss prepaid Fiber Internet and compare what Globe GFiber and Surf2Sawa offer.
What is Prepaid Fiber Internet?
A prepaid fiber Internet connection is like your usual fiber connection commonly sold by major telecommunications companies like PLDT, Globe, Converge, Sky Cable, and more. However, the main difference is that customers can now decide when to use the Internet instead of paying a fixed monthly fee for their services. Then, if they want to reconnect, customers can simply reload.
You can think of it like how you use prepaid cellphone loads, where you follow a pay-as-you-go scheme compared to the monthly postpaid cellphone load subscription, like buying a Php90 load good for a week instead of subscribing to Php1,000 per month.
Currently, only two prepaid Fiber Internet Connections are available to the public — Globe GFiber Prepaid and Converge ICT Surf2Sawa. But we can be sure that it will not take long before other major Fiber Internet providers follow suit, depending on the success of the first movers in the market.
Here is a table showing the general overview of the first two prepaid fiber Internet services in the Philippines.
| Prepaid Fiber Internet | Globe GFiber Prepaid | Converge ICT Surf2Sawa |
| One-Time Installation Fee | Php1,499 + 7 days free unli fiber | Php1,000 + P700 for 30 days access |
| 1-day | N/A | Php50 |
| 7-days | Php299 | Php200 |
| 15-days | Php549 | Php380 |
| 30-days | Php999 | Php700 |
| Lock-up Period | None | None |
| Internet Speed | – | Up to 25Mbps |
Disclaimer: The details are based on the current data available on the official GFiber and Surf2Sawa websites.
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Globe GFiber Prepaid
Globe’s GFiber Prepaid is one of the first two companies offering prepaid unlimited fiber Internet, requiring a one-time fee of P1,499, including a free 7-day unlimited fiber Internet that normally costs Php299. So, the installation can be viewed as only costing around Php1,200.
They offer 7-days, 15-days, and 30-days connection, costing, Php299, Php549, and Php999, respectively. These costs are relatively much lower than their postpaid GFiber Unli Plan 1799 but have some expected speed limitations.
You can apply for the Globe Gfiber Prepaid through the GlobeOne app, while payments can be made through GCash. Globe also added a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) scheme via GCash’s GCredit and GGives for ease of entry, allowing installment payments of up to 24 months.
Converge ICT Surf2Sawa
Converge ICT‘s Surf2Sawa has more affordable prepaid prices than GFiber Prepaid, costing as low as Php50 for one day of unlimited Internet access for up to six devices. Their 7-day, 15-day, and 30-day prices are also much lower than Globe’s, as they only cost Php200, Php380, and Php700, respectively.
According to Converge, they are now the Philippines’ biggest fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network, spanning more than 618,000 kilometers across the archipelago. Their infrastructure laid out in various locations makes their prepaid fiber internet connections more accessible.
PLDT Prepaid Fiber
PLDT has their sight in expanding to the prepaid fiber business after their competitors, Globe and Converge ICT, offered a prepaid fiber connection option, which can also drive the prices of these plans even lower. Though there are still no updates on when they will roll out, we can expect it to be soon.
Prepaid Fiber Internet is a great way for telecommunications companies to offer their services to the lower-income sectors of the country, allowing them to gain access to faster and more reliable connections at just a fraction of the cost. Subscribers will also have control over their budget and intended usage.
It’s important to note that the Internet speed of these services are expected to be slower since the prepaid prices are relatively lower while still offering uncapped data access. However, it is still fast enough for most use cases.
Would you want to try prepaid Internet, or do you want to stick to the fixed postpaid plans? Share your thoughts in the comments.