Gorilla Mobile set to revolutionize telecom industry with proprietary SwitchBack feature and Service-On-Demand model.
Telco startup Gorilla Mobile’s launch in Singapore has introduced a whole new approach to the mobile communications experience.
Targeting PMETs and SMEs, Gorilla Mobile is the first telco in Singapore to run on a Service-On-Demand model, providing access to a full suite of services, anytime, without a contract, subscription fees or activation charges. Users pay only for what they use, when they use it, ensuring a fair and modular way of using and paying for mobile services.
Gorilla Mobile will be offering a full suite of digital smart solutions. Customers can sign up for its Switch25 Mobile plan, at S$25, through the Gorilla Mobile website. In the coming months, the company will unveil new services including a Global Roaming Travel Data SIM Card, Digital International Direct Dialing (IDD) and Global Office Telephony solutions.
The next-generation telco will lean on M1 as its host Mobile Network Operator, leveraging its wide network coverage, and MyRepublic’s enterprise Operating Support System and Business Support System (OSS/BSS) telecommunications solution and managed services.
Working from home has dramatically spiked Internet traffic and Wi-Fi use. Remote workers are now predominantly relying on their home Wi-Fi instead of using their mobile data.
Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has reported that the monthly average mobile data usage per user was 2.7GB in 2018 and 6GB in 2020. According to Gorilla Mobile’s research, 87% of Singaporeans pay for mobile data they don’t use and don’t need every month.
Powered by blockchain
“Our SwitchBack feature can be compared to the Singapore Parking app. Users pay only for their parking duration and get refunded for their unused time. Through SwitchBack, unused data never goes to waste. Its value gets reallocated to offset, purchase or exchange for other Gorilla services,” said Xanne Leo, Gorilla Mobile Founder and CEO.
“In today’s world, mobile communication services are an everyday necessity. With our Service-On-Demand model, we have digitized our services, moving beyond customized or flexible subscriptions. We believe users should have easy access to mobile services anytime, anywhere and pay only for the services they use. This ‘telco-as-a-service’ approach is the first new innovation the industry has seen in a long time.”
“Companies are once again turning to work-from-home arrangements under the recent tightened Covid-19 measures. Our workforce, now relying on their home Wi-Fi most of the day, has large amounts of unused mobile data each month,” she added. “We are committed to providing fair mobile solutions to ensure our customers enjoy the benefits at maximum value. While many of our peers offer customized and flexible plans, which predict or assume a customer’s monthly usage, we charge them solely on their actual use.”
Complementing Gorilla’s model of fairness and user-centricity is its proprietary SwitchBack technology, powered by blockchain. SwitchBack enables users to fully ‘switch back’ unused mobile data to offset their bills, purchase or exchange for other in-app services, or simply share it with their co-workers and team members.
Unlike other telcos, there is no expiry for unused data. This sets Gorilla Mobile apart from its peers and further demonstrates its commitment to fair mobile solutions, designed with users in mind.
The company has been established with US$3 million in seed capital, and is set to raise US$5 million in Series A funding to expand to Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam. It plans to enter Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, Korea and Taiwan in the longer term.
