New post-paid leader Smart gears up for more value offerings

MANILA, Philippines - Leading wireless services provider Smart Communications said it expects the continued expansion of its postpaid segment this year as it gears up for the launch of new handset deals and voice and data plans.

As the country’s new postpaid leader, the combined Smart and Sun Cellular bases ended 2011 with a postpaid subscriber base of nearly two million, following the success of their best-value offerings.

Smart’s parent company Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) acquired a majority stake in Sun Cellular operator Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc. (Digitel) last year.

“Smart tripled its average daily postpaid activations largely because of the popularity of the Unli and All-In plans and smartphone-bundled plans,” Smart mobile marketing head Guido Zaballero said.

He added that they expect to top last year’s figures as Smart is set to launch exciting postpaid offerings in 2012. “Consumers should watch out for our attractive handset deals and voice and data plans,” he said.

Among last year’s growth drivers were the Unli Plan 299, which allows unlimited texts to any Smart and Talk ‘N Text number, and the Unli Plan 599, which allows unlimited calls and texts to Smart and Talk ‘N Text subscribers.

The iPhone Plans, Smart’s exclusive plans for the Samsung Galaxy Y Netphone edition and Netphone 701, and the Smart-Sun Text Unlimited 549 Plan also boosted postpaid figures.

The Smart-Sun Text Unlimited 549 Plan provides unlimited texts to Smart and Sun numbers, two hours of free Smart-to-Smart calls, and four hours of free Sun-to-Sun calls. It comes with a free dual-SIM phone.

Officials noted that Smart’s All-In Plans were very popular as well, as these allow subscribers to choose Unli call and text packages, next-generation handsets, and mobile Internet plans.

“Consumers got the best value from Smart’s Unli call and text offers as we have the biggest prepaid and postpaid subscriber base in the country, as well as the most sophisticated and reliable network,” Zaballero said.

Zaballero refers to the P67.1 billion worth of investments made by Smart and PLDT for massive network transformation initiatives.

The upgrades mean that the network is able to handle and accommodate higher volumes of calls, text messages, and data traffic, thus improving the experience for customers.

“We’re confident that our users will continue to see the benefits of being on Smart, including superior call quality, nationwide coverage, and no downtime,” Zaballero added.

Smart ended 2011 with a total subscriber base of 49 million.