Smart, 2 subsidiaries among world’s best

MANILA, Philippines - Three innovations launched by wireless services leader Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) and its subsidiary Smart e-Money Inc. (SMI) were recently ranked among the world’s best by Telecoms.com, a leading provider of news, analysis, and opinion on the telecommunications industry.

Shortlisted at the Telecoms.com Awards are music service Spinnr, mobile remittance service Smart Money Padala, and the multi-awarded Green Merchandising program.

Spinnr – an application that gives Smart subscribers access to more than 3 million songs from the world’s biggest music superstars – was named finalist under the OTT (Over-the-Top) Service Launch category.

Spinnr offers unlimited music streaming at affordable rates, playlist access and customization, and the best download discounts.

It also enables Smart subscribers to pay for music streaming and downloads using their prepaid load or postpaid credits.

Nominated this year as Best Mobile Payment Solution is Smart Money Padala, which serves the domestic and international money remittance requirements of Filipinos.

With this service, Pinoys can transfer funds to tens of millions of Smart subscribers at the speed of a text message.

Smart Money Padala boasts of a large remittance network, with 95,000 international and 27,000 local remittance partners.

In the running for its fourth international award, under the Green Technology category, is the Green Merch project, Smart’s sustained effort to reduce the impact of its operations on the environment.

Smart is the first Philippine company to use the environment-friendly stone paper in the production of its advertising and merchandising materials.

Unlike plastic, stone paper degrades under the sun and eventually becomes stone again. It is also water- and tear-resistant.

Smart has also been using recyclable banners and recycled paper for its posters, flyers, and other materials.

Green Merch previously won at the Asian CSR Awards 2013 in Indonesia, World Communication Awards 2012 in the United Kingdom, and Asia Communication Awards 2012 in Singapore.

Winners of the Telecoms.com Awards will be announced in a ceremony to be held in London on Dec. 4.

Last year, Smart subsidiary Voyager Innovations won the OTT Service Launch award for SmartNet, a platform that offers the use of popular mobile apps such as Twitter, Facebook, and Facebook Chat for free.

The “Freemium” model gives people a taste of what mobile Internet has to offer – without fear of unexpected data charges – and promotes the growth of mobile Internet usage among Smart subscribers.