Smart posts 43% hike in postpaid subscribers

Manila, Philippines -  Smart Communications has sustained its growth momentum in the postpaid business, registering a 43 percent expansion in postpaid subscriber base in the first quarter.

This, the company said, is the fastest growth among mobile telcos during the period.

Smart and Sun Cellular, the other wireless brand of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) Group, have now cemented their status as the country’s number one in postpaid with a total of 2.04 million subscribers as of end-March.

The growth in Smart’s postpaid subscriber base, as well as the 13 percent increase in postpaid revenue, was fueled by the success of its Netphone, Unli and All-In plans, according to Smart postpaid marketing head Kathryn Carag.

“Of course, aside from having gadgets and plans that fulfill the different needs of our subscribers, Smart is offering the most reliable SMS, voice, and mobile Internet services in the country. Our sophisticated network has been the best incentive for mobile phone users to avail themselves of our postpaid and prepaid services,” she added.

For his part, Smart’s executive vice president and head of wireless consumer division Emmanuel Lorenzana said it will all boils down to service quality. “Consumers are not just looking for the latest devices or flexible plans. More importantly, they want to be confident that all text messages sent are received by the intended recipients without delay. They also expect superior call quality and network coverage anytime, everywhere, including the remote areas in the country. The superiority of the Smart network has allowed us to meet all of these consumer expectations.

The surge in our postpaid numbers reflects the growing sophistication of subscribers who refuse to settle for second best,” he pointed out.

Among the postpaid growth drivers are the Unli Plan 599 and Netphone Plan 349, which come with a free handset. The former provides unlimited calls and texts to any Smart or Talk ‘N Text number, while the latter provides unlimited texts and unli social stream where subscribers can check their Facebook and Twitter accounts from one application.

“Mobile phone users find Smart’s Unli plans more practical than similar unlimited text and call offerings because Smart has the largest prepaid and postpaid subscriber base in the country - a total of 50.5 million as of end-March. This means that Smart Unli plan holders can text and call more mobile phone users as often as they want,” Carag said.

She said Smart will continue offering the popular Netphone Plan 349 which now comes with a Samsung Galaxy Pocket Netphone edition. At the heart of the Netphone is Smartnet – a platform developed by Smart which includes a suite of applications that allows Netphone users to chat, check their social feeds without switching apps, and post online updates for free.

Also boosting Smart’s postpaid performance are the All-In plans which let subscribers select their free handset and customize the services they receive. For example, social media addicts under All-In Plan 1800 may choose to spend P1,000 of their plan on unlimited mobile Internet and allocate the remaining P800 to specific call and text packages.

Carag said mobile phone users can look forward to exciting postpaid developments as Smart will continue to expand the lineup of services under its All-In plans.

“In the meantime, we are reviving our hugely successful Piso Sale promo, which allows customers to buy amazing plan-bundled smartphones for only one peso. Among the gadgets to be placed on Piso Sale is the Netphone 501 bundled with the Unli Plan 599. We will be coming out with more details soon,” she said.