‘Unli’ war rages as Smart, Globe bare offerings
With "unli" text and voice packages becoming a staple diet of mobile consumers, the country's top two local operators simultaneously announced on Wednesday their respective new "unli" packages. Ayala-led Globe Telecom said it was putting back in the market its Superunli promos which allow prepaid subscribers to make unlimited calls and texts to all Globe, TM, and Tattoo users. The promo comes in two variants: a daily all-you-can call and text service for P25, and a weekly offer for P150. Superunli 25 is an all-day, all-you-can call and text offer available to all Globe prepaid subscribers for P25. On the other hand, Superunli 150 is a seven-day call and text-all-you-can offer for subscribers that available for P150 and valid for an entire week. To avail of the offer, subscribers must text Super25 or Super150 to 8888 and maintain a load balance of at least P1. PLDT-owned Smart Communications, meanwhile, said it was launching the "country’s lowest priced unlimited call and text packages" in a move that company said "signals a fresh drive to offer more affordable services and gain more ground in the market for 'unli' services." Offered through the "red mobile" brand, the two new service packages are called "unli 4" (read as "unli quatro") and "unli 8" ("unli ocho"). With unli 4, red mobile subscribers can send unlimited red-to-red text messages for one day for P4. They can avail of the service by purchasing prepaid load and by sending “TU4" to the service number "9949". Unli 8 offers unlimited red-to-red voice calls and SMS for one day for P8. They can register by sending "CTU8" to "9949". There is also no minimum load maintaining balance to continue using either of the two offers, Smart said. Red mobile is running on a mobile network that Smart has dedicated to handle unli voice call and text messaging services, it said. Developing the 'unli' network accounted for a significant portion of Smart’s network investments in 2009 and 2010, the company added. "We have implemented this network strategy so that we can address the demand for flat-rate and bucket services while maintaining overall network quality levels," said Danilo J. Mojica, head of Smart’s wireless consumer division. Smart’s domestic voice call traffic did surge by 140 percent in the first three quarters of 2010, driven by the increased unli and bucket voice offers of its brands Smart Buddy, Talk ‘N Text, and red mobile. That surge in voice minutes pulled up the contribution of voice to total revenues from 43 percent to 49 percent, higher than the 48 percent contribution of SMS. "We expect voice call usage to continue growing in 2011 and red mobile will certainly contribute to that," Mojica said. — Newsbytes.ph