Overseas Filipinos in Canada will now have access to Smart Communications, Inc’s (Smart) electronic load through the partnership of PLDT Global Corporation (PGC) and Hasty Market.
Under this agreement, customers will now be able to conveniently purchase Smart and TNT e-load products for themselves or to send to their family members in the Philippines in over 200 Hasty Market locations across Ontario, Canada. A homegrown company recognized for variety, quality and convenience, the Canadian food store chain have been serving local communities since 1981.
As of 2016, Ontario, Canada is home to over 53,000 Filipinos, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs website.
“This partnership enables us to bring our services closer to our kababayans abroad so that they can strengthen their connections with their loved ones back home,” said Albert V. Villa-Real, SVP and Chief Commercial Officer at PGC. “With our customers as our true north, we want to make technology easy and accessible to every Filipino, as we fuel their passions and help them realize their purpose wherever they are in the world,” Villa-Real added.
World-class services for Filipinos
As the international arm of the Philippines’ largest, fully integrated telco PLDT, PGC has been providing products and services to roaming customers of Smart, PLDT’s wireless unit, and migrant Filipinos all over the world through its multiple partnerships with international carriers and distributors.
Through its International Carrier and Business Group, Smart has also teamed up with 21 partners in 16 countries to provide worry-free Smart 5G roaming services.
PGC has also expanded its mobile app Free Bee, the go-to app for calls, messaging, bills payment, and a platform where like-minded brands can reach a wider overseas Filipino market.
The Philippines’ fastest mobile data network
These services are powered by the country’s fastest mobile data network, as reported by third-party mobile internet analytics firms such as Ookla® and Opensignal.
Ookla named Smart as the Philippines’ fastest mobile data network in the second half of 2020 after it achieved a Speed Score™ of 24.99, with average speeds of 20.08 Mbps for download, and 7.42 Mbps for upload, based on 3,915,679 user-initiated tests taken with Speedtest®. Ookla has cited Smart as the country’s fastest mobile data network for three years in a row now.
On the other hand, Smart has scored a rare sweep in the April 2021 Philippines Mobile Network Experience Awards* by independent analytics firm Opensignal, beating the competition across all metrics in three essential aspects of service: Coverage (4G Coverage Experience, 4G Availability), Speed (Download and Upload Speed) and Experience (Games, Video and Voice app).
Smart also enables subscribers to enjoy their favorite content seamlessly with Smart 5G, the fastest 5G network in the Philippines by Ookla. Based on consumer-initiated tests taken using Speedtest® by Ookla, Smart has consistently posted the fastest 5G speeds for Q1 2021, with median download speeds of 190 Mbps – more than double the competition’s speeds for the same period.
Global benchmarking company umlaut also recently gave Smart the ‘Best in Test’ award, recognizing Smart for delivering the best-rated broadband coverage, user download experience and latency experience, despite challenges of the pandemic and more stringent benchmarking guidelines.
Germany-based umlaut said Smart posted an overall score of 747 out of a maximum of 1,000 points in umlaut’s benchmarking survey. This score includes Smart’s performance in terms of broadband coverage, download speed, and latency. This is the third year in a row that Smart has received this accolade.
