062509: Smart targets 10% of users for new service

Companies

Written by Lenie Lectura / Reporter

WEDNESDAY, 24 JUNE 2009 20:07

SMART Communications Inc. expects 10 percent of its subscribers to sign up to its new unlimited call offering designed to enhance the cellular firm’s voice call revenues. Smart officials, in a press briefing yesterday, will make available to both postpaid and prepaid subscribers two variants of the new unlimited cellular call service starting on Friday. The first is “Smartalk 100,” which offers five days of unlimited calls for P100 anywhere in the country, at any time of the day. Another variant, “Smart500,” offers 30 days of unlimited calls to Smart subscribers for P500, effectively reducing the cost to as low as P17 for a whole day of unlimited calling to any Smart number. “This is our way of helping out our subscribers in these difficult times and is our response to the government’s call for more affordable telecommunications services,” said Smart chief wireless advisor Orlando Vea. Smart registered over 38 million subscribers, of which 23 million are signed up with the country’s largest cellular company. The remaining is under Piltel’s ‘Talk ‘N Txt’ brand. “Ten percent of the Smart subscriber base is what we are looking at in the first two months. We hope they will subscribe to the service. On top of the Smartalk, we have other unlimited voice call offerings and bucket text messaging services as well.  We are giving our subscribers many choices,” added Vea. The cellular firm also offers 20 minutes of voice call for P20 and P15 for unlimited calls from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. The Smartalk offering, which runs on a promo basis until September 30, is expected to enhance voice call revenues and is seen not to affect SMS (short message service) revenues. Vea explained that mobile phone subscribers will still prefer SMS. “We are just extending certain voice package because we already have so many SMS bucket pricing. SMS usage will still be there. Smartalk is revenue enhancing and won’t affect our SMS promos,” said the Smart official. Smart, he said, has put up additional base stations and back-end servers to augment any increase in traffic that may arise from the various promos that run on the network. “Smart has always been ahead in terms of architecture. Glitches are behind us already. Besides, the issue on vanishing load, which is more centered on value-added service rather than voice and SMS is not with us. It’s with another carrier,” added Vea. Smart prepaid subscribers may avail of Smartalk by registering for the service. They can also buy Smartalk packages as a load from any of over one million Smart load retailers. Postpaid subscribers may avail of the Smartalk packages through e-load or be charged on top of their monthly service fee. The Smartalk service was first tested in Cebu for a month. Smart, Vea said, is widely credited for having made mobile phone services much more affordable and accessible, when it introduced sachet-size packets of prepaid airtime through Smart Load. “Over the years, we have progressively lowered the costs of our services and designed our efforts to truly meet the varying needs and purchasing power of our subscribers. By offering Smartalk, a service that is easy to understand, ubiquitous and affordable, Smart once again transforms the playing field and offers real value to mobile subscribers,” said Vea.

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