A week after Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, surprised the industry by announcing free mobile Internet offer to prepaid mobile subscribers of Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), Sun Cellular and Talk ‘N Text, the group announced that effective October 3, they are extending the free service to all their postpaid and broadband subscribers.
Pangilinan also announced that they are extending the duration of the free mobile Internet promo across all subscribers – postpaid, prepaid and broadband — from November 30 through the Christmas season until January 5, 2015.
The announcement was made through MVP’s official Twitter account: “TY for the overwhelming response to #SmartFREEInternet. Our early Christmas gift to our loyal and new subs – offer now extended to Jan. 5.”
In another tweet, MVP added “Even better – free Internet now open to ALL prepaid, postpaid & broadband subscribers of Smart, TNT 7 Sun #smartFREEinternet for All.”
On top of their free Internet, all subscribers can also enjoy “unli” “all-you-can” Facebook access – including sending messages via Facebook messenger and viewing of videos embedded in the social networking site.
Through this special offer, all of the 72 million subscribers of Smart, Sun and Talk ‘N Text can enjoy browsing through all their favorite websites as well their social media accounts using their data-enabled handsets. They can also send and receive emails, use their favorite mobile apps, shop online, and more – without incurring additional data charges.
“This is our way of thanking our subscribers as well as a response to the requests of our postpaid and broadband subscribers to be included in the special offer. It is part of our overall strategy in accelerating mobile Internet adoption and usage in the country,” said Charles A. Lim, executive vice president and head for wireless consumer business at Smart.
Text FREE to 9999
To avail of the free mobile Internet offer, subscribers just have to maintain an airtime balance of at least one peso, or be subscribed to any load bucket/promo. They can register each day, by simply sending “FREE” to the number “9999.” Registration is free. They will receive an SMS confirmation upon successful registration.
Once registered, subscribers can enjoy a free data volume package of up to 30MB per day. Data charges will however apply to peer-to-peer uploads and downloads, videos (unless embedded in Facebook), VOIP and messaging (except for Facebook messenger).
Smart’s successive free mobile Internet offers follows the leader’s recent announcement that it has stepped up the deployment of its broadband network, to meet the growing demand for data services.
Globe’s Free Facebook
On the day Pangilinan announced the free Internet offer, Globe Telecom issued a statement: “As the telco which pioneered Free FB for the world, we are flattered and honored that our competitors have chosen to follow the lead we have set. We wish to thank them for the compliment and wish them the best of luck. More people on the internet is good for the Philippines and our ecosystem.”
Following the statement, Globe immediately announced that it is bringing back its free Facebook offer, promising a “better and bigger” service.
