Smart launches new, affordable prepaid package 'All-In 20'

MANILA, Philippines - Smart Communications has launched a prepaid bucket offer bundling unlimited text with voice and mobile data in a bid to ramp up and add more value to its prepaid offers amid escalating price-based competition, a ranking company official said.

Dubbed ‘All-In 20’ and exclusively available to all Smart Buddy subscribers, the new offer is designed to address the needs of mobile users whose usage has evolved from just making calls and sending SMS, to mobile Internet.

About 90 percent of Smart’s subscriber base is on prepaid.

“We are focusing our prepaid business on rolling out uniquely-designed, bundled services that suit the shifting ways with which mobile subscribers now choose to communicate,” Smart wireless consumer division head Danilo Mojica said.

Smart Buddy subscribers may now avail of All-In 20, which bundles one-day unlimited on-net’ SMS, or texts to numbers in the Smart network (Smart, Talk ‘N Text and red mobile), with 20 texts to other networks, and 20 minutes of on-net calling or mobile Internet browsing, for only P20 a day.

“When mobile subscribers need to share something, they no longer just text or call, they post it on Facebook, or they ‘tweet’ about it. With All-In 20, mobile subscribers have the flexibility to share and communicate in the way they prefer, whether via SMS, voice, or through the Internet, at a fixed price that suits their budget,” Mojica added.

Mojica also said that the All-In 20 offer makes not just affordable calls and SMS, but also on-the-go Web access possible for prepaid subscribers who have only a fixed amount of load. This is expected to help open up the mobile Internet to a much broader market - a key component of the telco leader’s strategy of offering mobile Internet in ‘sachets’.

“The sachet approach helped expand the market for mobile phone services in the past. We think it will also boost mobile Internet usage,” Mojica said.

To avail of All-In 20, subscribers may register to the package by texting 20 to 6415. To enjoy the corresponding free minutes, subscriber simply needs to dial *6415 plus the 11-digit on-net number, e.g.,*641509181234567.

Aside from the P20 package, another variant is ‘All-In 30’, which, for P30, bundles unli on-net SMS with 30 texts to other networks, and 30 minutes of on-net calls or mobile Internet browsing, valid for two days.

The subscriber must maintain P1 airtime balance to continue using the All-In package. To set mobile Internet settings of handset, text SET to 211 for free. These combos will be available until mid-May 2011.

Smart Load and other bucket offers are available from any of Smart’s nationwide network of over 1.3 million load sellers.