Red Mobile expands unlimited offer to Smart subscribers

MANILA, Philippines - Red Mobile, the country’s newest mobile prepaid service, has further expanded its offering to allow users to make unlimited voice calls and text messages to the 44 million subscribers of Smart Communications Inc.

Red Mobile is a mobile prepaid brand offered by Smart subsidiary Connectivity Unlimited Resource Enterprise, (CURE), powered by the GSM platform of Smart.

In April 2009, Smart acquired CURE in a bid to expand its third generation of mobile communications technology (3G) service. Company officials said the move complements Smart’s 3G service expansion and enhancements efforts, which include the rollout of higher speed wireless broadband services. Red mobile’s offers are consumable to the last centavo, giving the subscriber the flexibility to make a phone call or send an SMS message –Red-to-Red or even to another network.

Smart wireless consumer division head Danilo Mojica said this latest offering provides unparalleled value to Red Mobile unlimited. “Backed by, and now, interconnected with, the country’s leading wireless network, the consumer stands to gain from Red Mobile’s unmatched value proposition of affordability and ubiquity,” Mojica added.

With the backbone of the country’s widest network, Red Mobile subscribers can now enjoy the benefits of Smart’s telecommunication infrastructure, network coverage, call quality, and load distribution channel.

Meanwhile, Red Mobile marketing head Guido Zaballero pointed out that with more and more people using Red Mobile as their second SIM, they are continuously looking for ways to provide them with value for their money.

“Now, Red Mobile subscribers can make unlimited calls not only to their friends and loved ones on their Red Mobile calling circle. We are virtually expanding their calling circle to include the millions of subscribers on the Smart network,” Zaballero said. 

The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) Group’s total cellular subscriber base for the first three months of 2010 grew to 43.2 million subscribers, a 17 percent growth year-on-year. Smart added 1.9 million subscribers for the period, as compared with 1.7 million in 2009. Smart Buddy recorded net additions of almost 1.3 million subscribers to end the quarter with 25.5 million subscribers while Talk ‘N Text added approximately 400,000 subscribers to end the quarter with 17.4 million subscribers.

Red Mobile had about 280,000 subscribers at the end of March 2010. Red Mobile was relaunched in March 2010 and positioned to meet market demand for unlimited services, particularly for “second SIM” holders.

In order to support the traffic requirements for unlimited voice and text without degrading the service quality of other subscribers, Smart built a secondary network that caters exclusively to Red Mobile subscribers. 

“Despite a maturing market, we were able to grow our subscriber base by 17 percent year-on-year.

Text volumes continue to climb while voice minutes are increasing significantly. However, declining yields and alternative means of communication have combined to put pressure on revenues and margins. We recognize the challenges that we face in the cellular industry, and we also know that we can meet these challenges head on, by coming up with innovative solutions and aggressively managing our costs,” PLDT and Smart president and CEO Napoleon Nazareno earlier said. 

Smart said it continues to invest in its cellular and multi-platform broadband networks while upgrading its existing transmission, core and access facilities. Smart’s 3G and HSPA networks now cover 50 percent and 44 percent of the country’s population, respectively.

To enjoy the new Red-to-Smart unlimited service, subscribers simply have to avail of the P30 Red Mobile unlimited load which offers one day of unlimited calls and text to any Red Mobile, Smart Buddy, Smart Gold, Talk ‘N Text and Infinity subscriber. Red Mobile subscribers just have to convert their existing electronic load by texting UNLI30, and sending it to 9949. This conversion of electronic load requires no registration and is free of charge.