Smartalk unlimited calls promo of Smart Communications

Smart Communications has announced a new promo that offers unlimited calls within its network.  Mr. Danilo Mojica, head of Smart's wireless consumer division said the new service called Smartalk will be available starting June 26 until September 30, 2009.

"We will first observe to determine public reaction on whether it will be made part of our regular service," said Orlando Vea, chief wireless advisor and founder of Smart.

"Filipinos love to talk.  They will talk even more if voice is more affordable," Vea said.

Annie Naval, Smart's group head for marketing, said about 10 percent or 2.3 million of the 23 million Smart subscribers are expected to avail of the service within the next two months.

Naval said the service has been tested in Cebu and found successful.  Only Smart subscribers can avail of the service, although they can also make unlimited calls to 15 million Talk 'N Text subscribers.

Both post-paid and pre-paid Smart subscribers can avail of the service, without changing their SIM or cell phone number.  To activate the service, Smart subscribers can purchase Smartalk loads in two denominations.  The first is 'Smartalk 100' which offers unlimited calls to any subscriber within the Smart network in the country at anytime of the day.  This translates to a P20-a-day for unlimited calls.

Another variant is the 'Smartalk 500' which offers 30 days of unlimited calls, translating to a daily rate of P17.

Vea said the Smartalk load, which is purely for voice service, is not likely to go missing, as in the case of electronic load for value added services, which has been reported to be vulnerable to glitches.

"That has been centered on VAS. But it is voice.  We don't expect this to happen to voice," he said.

To register, a Smart Buddy subscriber needs to send Talk100 to 6400 for a Smartalk 100 package, or Talk500 to 6400 for a Smartalk 500 load. The payment for the package bought will be automatically deducted from the subscriber's prepaid load.

Smartalk packages can also be bought as a load from Smart retailers.  When making Smartalk call, pre-paid subscribers need to dial *6400 plus the 11-digit subscriber number.

Meanwhile, post-paid subscribers of Plan 800 or higher can avail of 30 days of unlimited calls by sending Talk500 to 6400 to purchase the package, and the 500-peso charge will be billed on top of their monthly service fee. They just need to dial the 11-digit Smart or Talk 'N Text number to avail of the service.

Post-paid subscribers also have the option of purchasing Smartalk 100 or Smartalk 500 from load retailers.  Naval said other promo offers of Smart on voice and SMS services will continue.