Nov 122013
 

To help the communities severely affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda, the country’s three mobile phone operators – Globe Telecom, Smart Communications, and Sun Cellular – have agreed to provide 25 free SMS per day for five days that may be used for local and international text messages.

The joint offer will be available to subscribers in Tacloban City and the provinces of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Leyte, northern Cebu and the Samar.

“This is a time for Filipinos to come together and help our countrymen in their hour of great need.  This joint effort will help Smart, Sun Cellular and Talk ‘N Text subscribers in the typhoon-struck areas to communicate with their loved ones at home and abroad,” said Charles A. Lim, executive vice president of Smart and chief operating officer of Digital Mobile Philippines.

“This free service is open to all Globe Postpaid, Globe Prepaid, and TM subs in these Eastern Visayas provinces. This is the company’s way of giving assistance to our customers who are suffering from the typhoon’s onslaught and who need to reach out to their family and friends in the country and abroad,” said Peter Bithos, chief operating advisor for Globe Consumer Business Group.

The free 25 daily SMS bundles are available from Nov. 13 to 17 and can be used to send text messages across all networks. There is also an allocation for international SMS. It will be pushed automatically to subscribers at the start of each day. Subscribers will receive SMS notifications once the bundles are sent. No registration is required.

The three operators came to this unprecedented agreement in response to the extreme devastation caused by the super typhoon. They are also working to restore their respective services and assist emergency relief activities of the government and humanitarian agencies.

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For Globe and TM subscribers, the free service can be availed by texting BangonPinoy to 8888.

Oct 132013
 
Sun Cellular to boost partnership with LGUs

MANILA, Philippines – Sun Cellular, a unit of dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), is set to offer best-value data solutions and more innovative communications offerings to help local governments nationwide to modernize public service. Corrine Zablan, assistant vice president for strategic sales partnership of Sun Cellular, said the telecommunications provider intends to fuel the modernization of public service and local governance nationwide. Zablan cited its partnership with the local government of Gen. Trias, Cavite for the provisioning of a 24/7 hotline system covering all government units and barangays of the municipality. Sun Cellular has been extending its renowned unlimited call and text services to power up a unified communication channel for Gen. Trias since August 2008, helping the municipality in terms of information dissemination and in making public service even more accessible to all constituents. “We are very proud to be part of this endeavour of marrying innovation and public service. Apart from the consumer and commercial level, we recognize the vital role of communications in maintaining peace and order, and in fostering transparency and strong ties within the community,” Zablan added. The hotline system through the “Serbisyo 24/7” Text Hotline and the “Mayor’s 24/7” Call and Text Hotline comprise of 220 mobile and wireless desk phones in all 33 barangays of the municipality including public schools, social service offices, civil groups and homeowner associations. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The hotline system has been instrumental in sending text broadcasts of public service Read More …

Jun 282013
 
Sun Cellular sees sustained growth in mobile Internet revenues

MANILA, Philippines – Sun Cellular, a unit of dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), sees a sustained growth in mobile internet revenues on the back of improved nationwide coverage and robust sales of smartphones. Sun Cellular vice president for data services Michele Curran said in a statement that the company hopes to sustain the 71-percent growth in mobile Internet revenues in the first quarter of the year as improved nationwide coverage and the strong sales of its attractive smartphone offerings boosted demand for mobile Internet services.  “Given the market shift to smartphones, we have taken a proactive stance in addressing the growing market of data users. We continue to expand our network reach, boost browsing speeds and focus even more closely on addressing the specific browsing needs of consumers,” Curran stressed. He pointed out that Sun Cellular generated a 53- percent revenue increase in its pay-per-use mobile Internet services and a robust 76-percent growth in its revenues for mobile internet add-on plans compared to the first quarter of 2012. Banking on the capacity of smartphones as mobile platforms for online-based content, he said Sun Cellular has complemented its regular browsing services by introducing its series of “Forever Loads” which offer unlimited access to top social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Yahoo!.

Feb 032013
 
Smart, Globe ship 150T iPhone5 units since Dec launch

MANILA, Philippines – Rival mobile carriers Smart Communications Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. shipped close to 150,000 units of iPhone5 since the newest Apple handset was launched in the country last Dec. 14. Data from the Common Carriers Authorization Department (CCAD) of the state-run National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) showed that both Globe and Smart brought 147,719 units of iPhone5 into the country last month. Globe imported 95,711 units of iPhone5 while Smart brought in 52,008 units last December. Smart and Globe launched the iPhone5 about three months after it was released by California-based Apple Inc. in September. The new iPhone5 – the sixth of its kind released by Apple – is thinner and lighter than the iPhone4s and features a four-inch screen slightly bigger than the previous models’ 3.5-inch screen. It features a four-inch retina display with the ultrafast wireless and powerful A6 chip and an eight-megapixel iSight camera with panorama and iCloud. It comes with iOS 6, Apple’s newest operating system for mobile devices featuring shared photo streams, Facebook integration, all-new Maps app, passbook organization, and voice-based personal assistant Siri. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Likewise, both Globe and Smart made available its fastest Internet service through the Long Term Evolution (LTE) in iPhone5 with the release of a software update iOS6.1 last week. Regarded as the fastest fourth generation (4G) wireless connection, LTE is ideal for downloading movies in minutes, lag-free gaming, ultra-fast surfing, buffer-free video streaming, and mission-critical Internet use because of its Read More …