Smart bags unprecedented 3 awards at Mobile Asia Congress

MANILA, Philippines - Leading wireless operator Smart Communications bagged an unprecedented three out of 11 awards at the annual Mobile Asia Congress held in Hong Kong by the GSM Association (GSMA), the global trade group for the mobile industry.

Smart’s winning entries were: Smart Money’s expanded mobile-based security feature for online purchases under the Best Mobile Money Service category; Smart Islands Activation Program (IAP) under the Mobile Money for the Unbanked Award category; and the Axe on Phone campaign, in partnership with Unilever, under the Best Mobile Advertising or Marketing category.

These entries bested a field of over 100 submissions from mobile phone operators all over Asia. They have been automatically shortlisted for the Global Mobile Awards, which will be held during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain next year.

“This is unprecedented (for the GSMA), that one company has won three awards in one night,” according to Rob Conway, chairman and CEO of the GSMA.

“These awards show that the Philippines has an innovative and vibrant telecommunications industry that continues to provide its customers with ground-breaking products and services,” Smart president and CEO Napoleon Nazareno said.

For his part, Smart chief wireless advisor Orlando Vea said that as they embed Smart Money into the web experience with their mobile-based online security feature, their islands activation program at the same time reaches deep into the grassroots and impact people’s lives.

“The Axe on Phone campaign shows our leadership in developing a new marketing space that will be a source of revenues in the future,” he added.

The Smart Island Activations Program provides remote, underserved island communities with mobile money transfer services. This was piloted in Polillo Island in Quezon province which was cut off from financial services when the only rural bank on the island and the telegraphic transfer office closed shop in 2008.

Working with the Rhudarda Multi-Purpose Cooperative (RMPC), Smart enabled island residents to send and receive cash, buy airtime and pay for goods and services using mobile phones. This service will be replicated in 40 other small islands in different parts of the country through Smart’s partnership with SeedFinance, the Mindanao Microfinance Council and other microfinance institutions.

Smart Money’s new Internet payments security feature allows Smart subscribers to make online purchases even more secure with the help of their cellular phones. Purchases from MasterCard online retail partners using Smart Money accounts are authorized outside the Internet environment through a Smart mobile phone. 

The new security feature unlocks the Smart Money account prior to a purchase and then automatically locks it after the transaction. This effectively prevents online fraud and other potential abuses.

The Smart Post-Marketing Waste Management Initiative (tarpaulin recycling) was also a finalist under The Green Mobile Award category.

The GSMA represents more than 750 GSM mobile operators as well as 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers, Internet companies, and media and entertainment organizations, across 219 countries and territories.