PLDT wireless subsidiary Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) is teaming up with\u00a0popular\u00a0smartphone brand OPPO in ramping up LTE\u00a0smartphone adoption\u00a0among its customers.<\/p>\n
Under the partnership, Smart and OPPO are offering the OPPO A71 phone kit bundle to Smart, TNT and Sun users at a discounted price to encourage more customers to upgrade their devices to LTE.<\/p>\n
LTE allows customers to experience overall faster download and upload speeds that they can use to stream video, play mobile games, send files on-the-go and share photos on social media.<\/p>\n
Present at the signing ceremonies were PLDT-Smart\u00a0SVP\u00a0and Head of Consumer Business Market Development\u00a0Oscar Reyes\u00a0Jr, PLDT-Smart\u00a0FVP\u00a0and Consumer Marketing Head Andrew L. Santos, Smart Vice President for Prepaid Marketing Carlo Endaya, OPPO Vice President for Channel Sales Zen Han, OPPO Vice President for Marketing Jane Wan, and OPPO Vice President for Operations Garrick Hung.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur vision is to enable Filipinos to enjoy the fastest data connection with Smart LTE. We want to do this by equipping every Filipino with an LTE smartphone. Hence, Smart joins forces with OPPO to bring an LTE smartphone that allows our subscribers to level up to LTE and do this in\u00a0an affordable way,\u201d Santos said.<\/p>\n
OPPO A71, one of OPPO\u2019s best-selling smartphones, is available for P5,988, discounted from its original price of P6,990\u00a0while supplies last.\u00a0The OPPO A71 phone kit bundle comes with an LTE upgrade SIM for existing\u00a0Smart, TNT and Sun customers. First-time LTE SIM upgraders also get a free 1GB open-access data valid for 3 days upon successful\u00a0upgrade, which customers can use for accessing social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube, chat apps like Viber, and games like\u00a0Mobile Legends, for example.<\/p>\n
\u201cOPPO and Smart share a mission, and that is to empower the customer with the latest technology and innovative products,\u201d said Wan. \u201cWe\u2019re partnering with Smart to bring LTE-ready and up-to-date smartphones at affordable prices to more customers.\u201d<\/p>\n
LTE migration campaign<\/b><\/p>\n
As Smart accelerates its LTE migration campaign,\u00a0the number of LTE handsets now surpass the number of 3G phones on the Smart network. The number of new LTE handsets in the Smart network also rose by 75% in the first half of the year.<\/p>\n
As a result, the average revenue per user (ARPU) among prepaid subscribers increased just three months after the SIM upgrades. As more subscribers upgrade to LTE, mobile traffic on Smart\u2019s network also grew by 79% in the first half of the year, higher than the industry year-on-year growth of 54% for the same period.<\/p>\n
Under Smart\u2019s Level Up to LTE campaign, customers are encouraged to upgrade to an LTE-capable smartphone and an LTE SIM to be able to fully enjoy Smart\u2019s upgraded networks.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo enjoy LTE, our subscribers need only to remember three things: SPD \u2013 short for SIM, Place, and Device,\u201d Santos said, adding that subscribers who are still using non-LTE SIMs can easily get an LTE Upgrade SIM at\u00a0Smart Stores, Sun Shops, and sari-sari stores across the Philippines.<\/p>\n