Millions of customers in Latin America will enter the world of Smartapps with the roll-out this week of new bundled applications for mobile devices.

22 October: Today’s launch of bundled Smartapps in Colombia marks an important next step in Millicom’s shift from voice to data.

Our Tigo brand, already a recognized and trusted digital lifestyle coach, will introduce millions of mobile customers to the digital world of discovery, games and entertainment, meeting customer demand for digital lifestyle adoption while driving further take-up of data and smartphone usage.

Our strategy is to guide customers through the learning stages, show them the simplicity of using apps on mobile devices, as well as the extraordinary range of content there is available.

In line with the low penetration of debit and credit cards in our Latin American markets, this new service will be a simple way for customers who may be unfamiliar with the concept of apps, to access mobile content and see how fun and useful it can be.

Postpaid customers can discover and activate their favourite apps each month from a group of premium applications such as Tigo Music, Qello, Gameloft, Busuu and Smartbooks.

Pre-paid customers will choose from dozens more free apps designed around entertainment, health, fitness and food, including locally-relevant content such as maps.

Already, we have seen in Colombia how bundling apps drives ARPU up and strengthens customer loyalty. When we included Tigo Music – now Colombia’s leading digital music provider – as part of our monthly data plans, churn fell by 50 per cent.

We have also seen in the past year a significant rise in the number of customers taking data packages, with 25 per cent now paying for mobile online access. Tigo's FIFA World Cup app was a top download in five Tigo markets between June and July, helped by the wide availability of smartphones at around 45 US dollars.

Commenting on the launch of the new service today, Millicom’s CEO and President Hans-Holger Albrecht said “Online use on the go keeps on growing and now our smartapps service will reinforce this decisive shift from voice to data use on mobile devices. It’s a key part of our strategy to provide a digital lifestyle and promote stronger customer loyalty with valued services and attractive bundles.”

For our Press Release, click here.