MANILA, Philippines - People who have experienced losing their mobile phone know that such incidents are made doubly stressful by the need to get another mobile number and rebuild contact lists from scratch.
Prepaid subscribers of Smart Communications Inc. can now be saved from this taxing experience through SIMSafe, an exclusive service that allows them to retain their mobile number and retrieve their contacts from an application.
“Misplacing one’s phone or being victimized by a thief is bad enough; no one needs additional anxiety caused by the loss of contact details of relatives, friends, bosses, and business contacts,” said Chito Bustamante, Smart’s product portfolio management head.
“We offer the SIMSafe service to our subscribers to help them become ready for the unfortunate possibility of losing their phone. We cannot prevent gadget loss, but we can give Smart subscribers peace of mind as regards the contact list they have built through the years,” he added.
To avail themselves of the service, Smart and Talk ‘N Text subscribers must first register their mobile number by texting REG to 7467. The text costs P1.
They must then accept the terms and conditions to be sent through text, by sending AGREE <six-letter password> <first name> <last name> <e-mail> to 7467 (For example: AGREE psswrd bryan tan btan@yahoo.com). P120 will be deducted from their load balance.
“The amount might seem steep at first, but this will give you yearlong coverage. If you lose your SIM within a year of registration, Smart will give you a free replacement SIM with your old number. P10 a month is all it takes to save you the trouble of getting a new number and telling everyone to update your contact information,” Bustamante said.
Smart and Talk ‘N Text subscribers using a Nokia or Sony Ericsson handset have the additional option of saving their contacts in the SIMSafe application. After agreeing to the terms and conditions of the service, they will receive a text message containing instructions on how to store their contacts.
“You can save your contacts in the app for free within 24 hours of registration. If you want to update the stored contacts, you may visit http://simsafe.ph and sync your phone again for just P10,” Bustamante said.
Subscribers who have lost their SIM can use another Smart or Talk ‘N Text number to report the incident. All they have to do is text LOSS <password> <lost mobile number> to 7467. They will receive instructions on how to claim their replacement SIM and how to download the saved contacts to their new handset.
“This will eliminate the time-consuming process of individually asking loved ones and officemates for contact details, and of informing all of them of your new mobile number. With Smart’s help, you can devote your time to more productive activities,” Bustamante said.