SMART unit makes fresh push for low-end market
Talk ‘N Text launches Barangay Phone
Leading mobile phone operator Smart Communications, Inc. (SMART) has launched a new service geared at providing mobile communication to Filipinos who still don’t have a celphone.
Called the Talk ‘N Text Brangay Phone, the new service is being offered through a wireless telephone set powered by a Talk ‘N Text SIM card, which allows users to call any landline or mobile phone, anywhere in the country, for as low as P3 for a 3-minute call, or effectively, P1 per minute.
To be deployed in sari-sari stores, other high-traffic locations such as public markets or transportation terminals, and even to ambulant vendors nationwide, the Talk ‘N Text Barangay Phone may be used by individuals that need to make a call either to a landline or a mobile number, but don’t have their own personal cell phone.
It is also a reliable alternative for those that may have their own cell phone, but lack e-load, or temporarily have no access due to a dead battery, or any other emergency situation.
“Offering quality services to what they now call ‘the base of the pyramid’ is built into SMART’s DNA. This is where and how we grew. Offering the Talk ‘N Text Barangay Phone is a natural progression of that strategy,” said Orlando B. Vea, Chief Wireless Advisor and co-founder of SMART.
The Talk ‘N Text Barangay Phone is expected to boost the value-based proposition of the brand, which now counts over 17 million subscribers.
Individuals that need to use any Talk ‘N Text Barangay Phone anywhere in the country just need to buy the micro ‘bucket’ load at denominations of P3 for a 3-minute call, P6 for a 6-minute call, or P12 for a 12-minute call to any number within SMART’s network of over 42 million subscribers nationwide.
Calling a landline or mobile numbers within another network costs P6 for a 1-minute call, or P12 for a 2-minute call.
The Talk ‘N Text Barangay Phone comes in a boxed set complete with a phone kit, a Talk ‘N Text SIM pack, a retailer kit, and ‘marketing’ collaterals such as stickers and posters, to help the owner turn the Barangay Phone into a micro business, straight out of the box.
The set comes free, and the subscriber just needs to purchase the pre-loaded P3,000 worth of e-load – the sale of which in sachet size provides healthy margins, providing a new source of income to the Talk ‘N Text Barangay Phone owner.
Look for the Talk ‘N Text Barangay Phone at a sari-sari store nearest you, or at public transportation terminals nationwide.
