By John Mark V. Tuazon
Computerworld Philippines

Taking advantage of promos that are light on the budget, Filipinos actually prefer by-the-bucket services offered by telcos, Smart Communications Inc. disclosed at the launch of their new unlimited voice calls offer recently.

Bucket promos essentially comprise more than half of network revenues, the telco said, ringing in majority of SMS sales from its 38-million subscribers. “Bucket promos have become a bigger portion of our revenue, and in some areas, it is even the lion’s share. It’s a growing trend,” shared Danilo Mojica, wireless consumer division head, Smart.

Their Alltxt offering is actually one of the well-received services they have introduced, easily attracting millions of Smart users nationwide, Mojica added.

Following this trend, the major telco player is rolling out an unlimited voice call service aptly dubbed “Smartalk,” which shall begin implementation on June 26, said Annie Naval, group head for marketing, Smart.

“We are introducing a new unlimited voice calls service through Smartalk, which lets you call anytime, anywhere for a limitless amount of time using only one sim, one number and one phone,” Naval explained, adding that users only need to send an SMS or buy from e-load resellers in order to avail of the service.

Mojica conversely dismissed issues of network clogging due to the rollout of the new service. “We have tested the service for a month in Cebu, and all the elements have satisfactorily passed our tests,” Mojica assured. “Our networks can definitely handle the traffic Smartalk will cause our stations.”

Orlando Vea, chief wireless advisor, Smart, seconded Mojica’s claim. “Everytime we introduce a new product, we setup the necessary facilities to accommodate the users,” he said, alluding to their recent HSPA network upgrade.

The new service, according to Smart, is available to both postpaid and prepaid subscribers, at P100 and P500 denominations for 5 days and 30 days respectively. Postpaid subscribers have the option to include the offer on top of their monthly bill.

The promo is currently limited to Smart-to-Smart and Smart-to-Talk N Text calls, because the company has no plans of extending to off-network calls as of the moment, Vea said.

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