Smart links up Tawi-Tawi

For Barangay Pababag, a small island village in Tawi-Tawi, friends and relatives anywhere in the world are now just a phone call away.

After a long wait, the fishing community of about 1,000 households now enjoy access to telecommunications services with the opening the SmartLink Tawag Center, a satellite public calling office of Smart Communications Inc.

This development came after the USAID-funded Alliance for Mindanao Off-Grid Renewable Energy (AMORE) Program provided electricity to Barangay Pababag using renewable energy systems, specifically solar power systems.

Although seven minutes away by boat from the Tawi-Tawi capital of Bongao and 20 minutes away from Sabah, Malaysia, Pababag had not enjoyed electricity for years because of the distance from the national power grid.

After the electrification of the village, AMORE teamed up with Smart to provide Barangay Pababag with a calling office as part of a holistic approach in alleviating poverty and promoting economic growth in the area. The calling office runs on the AMORE-installed solar power systems.

"The public calling office (PCO) signaled the barangay’s access to telecommunications using renewable energy – a milestone in the development initiatives in Mindanao," said Rodrigo Cabrera, AMORE’s chief of party.

Running on batteries charged using solar panels, the Tawag Center contains a plug-and-play unit consisting of a main terminal that has the phone functions and the SIM (Subscriber Identity Module), an all-weather resistant dome antenna and cable, and an ordinary landline telephone set.

Because it uses satellite technology, the PCO is able to contact anyone within a 13-million square mile area that stretches from Pakistan to Papua New Guinea. It is also easy and fast to deploy as it has accessories that can attach the unit to a car battery or solar panels.

"Maraming gumamit kaagad ng telepono (Many people immediately used the telephone) the moment it was installed. Even when I’m in Zamboanga, the people in the barangay call me up and we are able to make decisions instantly on things affecting them and the program," said Enrique Gallardo, AMORE’s livelihood specialist.

"They come to use the phone to talk with their relatives who are either in Malaysia or in the Mindanao mainland. Others use it to contact their buyers of fish and mats," he added.

Nearby island communities like Tongsinah were also thrilled by the Tawag Center installation in Pababag.

In the next months, according to AMORE, four more satellite Tawag Centers will be put up in the remote barangays of Langyan, Sapa-sapa, Panglimasugala and Kandubas in Tawi-Tawi.

The Smart Tawag Center in Barangay Pababag forms part of the community’s income-generating activities. Managed and operated by the Pababag Barangay Renewable Energy and Community Development Association (BRECDA), the satellite public calling office was acquired from Smart through just under P5,000 in investment.

The cost was already inclusive of merchandising materials and the Tawag Center kiosk. By selling airtime to those who want to have easy trade and business transactions or those who want to talk to relatives abroad, BRECDA receives a portion of the profit.

"We basically helped the residents advance their socio-economic development objectives through the use of wireless telecommunication facilities and services," said Jack Ignacio, SmartLink product manager.

"We’re very happy to bring telecommunications to these areas. Just as AMORE gives these communities light and hope, we at Smart assure them of a more efficient and effective delivery of services and programs through the satellite telephony we provide them," said Ignacio.