Gorilla Mobile Challenges With SwitchBack & Service-On-Demand Model

Next-generation telco startup Gorilla Mobile has launched in Singapore, spearheading a whole new approach to the mobile communications experience. Gorilla Mobile will be offering a full suite of digital smart solutions tailored for today’s professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) as well as local and global businesses. Singapore offers the perfect target audience for launch, with many businesses serving the region and the world.

You can sign up for Gorilla Mobile’s Switch25 Mobile plan through the Gorilla Mobile website. In the coming months, they will unveil new services including a Global Roaming Travel Data SIM Card, Digital International Direct Dialing (IDD) and Global Office Telephony solutions.

The company has been established with three million US dollars of Seed capital and is set to raise five million US dollars in Series A funding. The funds will be used to develop its product roadmap and for market expansion across Southeast Asia, with initial rollouts in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The company will enter Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, Korea and Taiwan in the longer term.

Gorilla Mobile runs on a Service-On-Demand model – the first in Singapore. This model provides 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.

Complementing Gorilla’s model of fairness and user-centricity is its proprietary SwitchBack technology, powered by blockchain. Gorilla’s 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.

Ms. Xanne Leo, Gorilla Mobile Founder and CEO said, “In today’s world, mobile communication services are an everyday necessity. With our Service-On-Demand model, we have digitized our services, moving beyond customised 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.” 

“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,” she said.

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. Last year, Internet service providers reported that with more people staying home in Singapore due to the pandemic, Internet usage rose by 60%. Similarly, internet traffic jumped 10% to 20% since the Phase 2 (heightened alert) restrictions took effect on 16 May 2021.

“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. Gorilla Mobile’s suite of services, especially our local plan, are developed with the needs of Singapore’s working professionals at heart. We are committed to providing fair mobile solutions to ensure our customers enjoy the benefits at maximum value. While many of our peers offer customised and flexible plans, which predict or assume a customer’s monthly usage, we charge them solely on their actual use,” Xanne added.

In line with the launch, Gorilla Mobile has rolled out the #RethinkMobile pre-launch campaign on its website – calling on Singaporeans to look at their mobile phone bills and examine their mobile package subscription and actual usage: what they are paying for versus what they actually use.

You can sign up for Gorilla Mobile’s Switch25 Mobile plan, which costs S$25, through the Gorilla Mobile website. The plan is available to all Singapore registered companies, Singaporeans, Permanent Residents, EPass, EntrePass and SPass holders aged 21 and above. From 18 June to 18 August, new customers, both individuals and businesses, are entitled to a Bill Difference Reward of up to SG$50 per mobile number, credited directly to their PayNow account upon successful port-in.

Gorilla Mobile 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.

“As we are still in our pre-launch phase, gradually bringing our full services to the market, we welcome users to try our service and share their valuable feedback with us as we strengthen our offerings and roll out more services to better cater to their needs,” Xanne added.