Smart eyes more foreign partnerships

Leading mobile operator Smart Communications is entering into partnerships with foreign mobile services providers to allow its more than 20 million prepaid subscribers to use their handsets to make voice calls while outside the Philippines.

Smart wholesale business group head Rogelio Quevedo told The STAR that the partnership entered into with Mobily (Etisalat), the leading mobile operator in Saudi Arabia, that would enable Smart prepaid subscribers to call and text while in that country, is just the beginning.

Before this partnership, Smart prepaid subscribers can only send text messages to the Philippines while in Saudi Arabia.

Quevedo said that very soon, this prepaid voice roaming service will be available in other Middle Eastern countries in the next few weeks. This would include Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, among others.

In addition to the Middle Eastern region, the Smart official revealed that this prepaid voice roaming capability will also be extended to prepaid subscribers of Smart while in Hong Kong, Singapore, as well as other countries.

Smart already has partnerships with foreign operators in more than 180 countries for its international roaming services.

The PLDT wireless subsidiary has 20.4 million subscribers on its network as of end-December 2005, of which 99 percent are prepaid subscribers. However, only one percent who are postpaid subscribers can make and receive voice calls as well as send and receive text messages while in these 180 countries. Prepaid subscribers can only receive voice calls and send and receive text messages, Quevedo explained.

This prepaid voice roaming capability was made possible through the Customized Applications for Mobile Network Enhanced Logic (CAMEL) solution, an adaptation of the intelligent network standards for GSM, which Smart uses for its prepaid international roaming service.

"Now, our prepaid subscribers who travel to Saudi Arabia can keep in touch with their loved ones back home with ease. This is just the first. We’re committed to bringing this latest roaming technology to more countries very soon," Quevedo said, adding that CAMEL would be available to the other Middle Eastern countries in the next few weeks.

Smart president and chief executive officer Napoleon Nazareno earlier said that the continued pressure on disposable income with the implementation of EVAT will pose a challenge to top line growth but the company has a number of services in the pipeline which will make telecommunications even more affordable and accessible to Filipinos.

For his part, PLDT group chairman Manuel Pangilinan explained that because of a more challenging operating environment, the group has chosen to take a prudent view of 2006 prospects.

"Growth in core earnings will be benign as revenue group moderates. We anticipate 2006 to be a year of transition as we lay the groundwork for future growth before reaping the benefits in 2007n and onwards," Pangilinan said.