Philippine telco Smart launches free chat app bundle similar to competitor, only cheaper and better

In an answer to Philippine telco Globe Telecom’s earlier promotion of free access to chat apps, its competitor, Smart Communications launched a similar promo called Unli 25.

Unli 25 is a service available to its subscribers for quite a while now, providing its users unlimited SMS and voice calls for one day. The telco now strengthens its offering: the same promo with surf and chat features at no extra cost. The service still costs Php 25 ($0.58) per day.

The upgraded package comes with 15 MB of mobile browsing and free access to popular chat apps like Line, WeChat, Kakaotalk, and Whatsapp. Prepaid subscribers who want to subscribe can send UNLI25 to 6406 via SMS.

Smart prepaid business group head Jane Basas says the package can be used to make unlimited voice calls and SMS to subscribers of Smart and its sister company, Sun Cellular. She adds:

The data allocation allows prepaid subscribers to use free chat applications and do mobile surfing anytime, anywhere through mobile apps or browser – without the need for a Wi-Fi connection. […] We recognize the importance of an internet connection to today’s mobile phone users.

In comparison, Globe Telecom’s similar offering costs Php 30 ($0.70) and only offers unlimited SMS and voice calls within the Globe network and access to free chat apps. This gives Smart an advantage with its mobile internet offering which, in its entirety, is cheaper and has more features.

It looks like this move is also a part of the momentum chat apps have gained in the Philippines. Kakaotalk even topped the app store in the Philippines shortly after airing TV ads.

Mobile subscribers in the Philippines often favor low-cost prepaid bundles over postpaid plans. Thanks to the competition between telcos, we can look forward to these sachet-type promos helping to increase the still-low mobile internet penetration in the country.

(Editing by Paul Bischoff)