{"id":6261,"date":"2014-09-09T10:32:07","date_gmt":"2014-09-09T02:32:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/?p=6261"},"modified":"2014-09-09T10:37:42","modified_gmt":"2014-09-09T02:37:42","slug":"smart-to-offer-mobile-internet-for-php1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/2014\/09\/09\/smart-to-offer-mobile-internet-for-php1\/","title":{"rendered":"Smart to offer mobile Internet service for Php1 per 10 minutes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Subscribers of Smart Communications, Inc. will soon be enable to access the Internet on their mobile phones for as low as Php1, the most affordable mobile Internet service to date.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dubbed \u201cPisoNet,\u201d Smart\u2019s new mobile Internet offer will be initially available to Talk \u2019N Text (TNT) subscribers and shall allow access to all apps and websites on mobile phones for only Php1 per 10 minutes, with the exception of video streaming sites and file-sharing activities.<\/p>\n

Set to be rolled out this month, the service is much more affordable than the standard P5 per 15-minute charging rate for mobile Internet.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, one peso is all you need to access the Internet. PisoNet thus brings the many benefits of the Internet to more Filipinos nationwide, especially those who are accessing the Internet for the first time using their phones,\u201d said Charles A. Lim, EVP and Head of the Wireless Consumer Division at Smart.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this upcoming service, the user is not limited to specific sites or apps.\u00a0 They can thus access the mobile apps and sites that are most relevant to them at a more affordable price,\u201d Lim added.<\/p>\n

PisoNet is thus expected to surpass Smart\u2019s growth momentum in mobile data, which has been growing at a 73% rate from last year\u2019s figures, as more Filipinos gain access to the Internet via their mobile phones.<\/p>\n

Pioneering platform<\/strong><\/p>\n

PisoNet will be delivered through a pioneering mobile internet platform which enables Smart\u2019s mobile phone data network to efficiently manage and shape the flow of Internet data traffic. As a result, network resources are used more efficiently to deliver the internet services that people want.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis platform unmatched by any other country in the world is a technical breakthrough that enables us to offer very affordable Internet \u2018sachets\u2019 sustainably,\u201d Lim explained. \u201cThis means we can keep offering best-value mobile Internet products for as low as \u2018piso\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

This enables Smart to offer data services in \u201csachets\u201d without sacrificing consumer experience, allowing subscribers to pay only for the Internet services that they need on an \u201calways on\u201d basis.<\/p>\n

The same platform also powers PowerApp, the telco\u2019s suite of mobile Internet packages that allows subscribers to access Internet bundles\u2014such as Social, Photo, Email, Chat, and individual apps\u2014for as low as P5 per day.<\/p>\n

\u2018Holy Grail\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the Holy Grail for Internet advocates who want to bridge the digital divide while sustaining quality of service. And we\u2019ve taken one big stab at it, using this groundbreaking platform targeted at one of the largest prepaid markets in the world,\u201d explained Dennis Mendiola, co-founder of Smart subsidiary Chikka, which developed the platform.<\/p>\n

Globally, telecommunications companies face the challenge of connecting \u201cthe next 5 billion users\u201d who are largely prepaid mobile phone users with limited budgets for mobile internet usage.<\/p>\n

\u201cTelcos around the world until now just offer data packages akin to \u2018eat-all-you-can\u2019 buffets at a premium price with little regard for efficient use of data resources. Our platform allows Smart to offer data at much higher level of efficiency, thus making it possible for us to offer much more affordable prices,\u201d added Mendiola.<\/p>\n

PisoNet will soon be initially available to TNT subscribers, who only need to simply text PISONET to 5555 to enjoy the offer.\u00a0 PowerApp, meanwhile, offers various packages that can be availed of by Smart and TNT prepaid and postpaid subscribers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Subscribers of Smart Communications, Inc. will soon be enable to access the Internet on their mobile phones for as low as Php1, the most affordable mobile Internet service to date.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":3330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,22],"tags":[515,625],"class_list":["post-6261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-headlines","category-spotlight","tag-mobile-internet","tag-smart-communications-inc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6261\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}