PinoyBusiness.ORG – Home

Smart Communications recently has made available in the market the first reloadable international direct dialing (IDD) card in the country. With its new product, the leading wireless phone provider is eyeing budget-conscious household because it allows them to make calls to 17 key overseas destinations for as low as P2.50 per minute.

Smart’s wireless division head Danilo Mojica said that the new card, which they called “Hellow” can be used on any Smart or Talk n’ Text mobile phone via load denominations for as low as P15. “Over the years, we have progressively lowered the costs of our services and designed our offers to truly meet the varying needs and purchasing power of our subscribers. With Hellow reloadable IDD card, we will enable overseas Filipinos and their families back home to save on communication expenses,” he said.

The new service also allows Smart to boost the capability of the IDD service to compete with the voice over Internet protocol of VoIP. Mojica said, “It (VoIP) will affect the use of IPP to a certain degree but it will not replace a conversation via telephone switch. There is also the technical element. VoIP quality is not the point where it approximates switch quality.”

For her part, head of Smart international services Kathryn Carag said the new service seeks to reach out to certain “underserved” consumers, such as the infrequent callers who really plan every call they make and even those who did not own cell phones in rural areas.

With the new Hellow card, call rates are priced at P2.50 per minute for calls to Canada, mainland United States, Guam and Hawaii. While calls to Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Malaysia and Hong Kong cost P5 per minute.

Calls to Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, Italy and Thailand will cost you P8 per minute, and P10 per minute will be charged on calls to Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.