Sun Cellular simplifies roaming rates

MANILA, Philippines - Sun Cellular, a wireless unit of dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), has simplified the pricing structure for text and data services to allow its subscribers a worry-free roaming experience.

Michele Curran, group head for Sun Data and International Services, said the simplified pricing would address the confusion encountered by subscribers when they travel abroad.

 “Roaming rates used to differ in each country and roaming partner, which could be quite confusing to some subscribers.  Some also choose to just turn off their phones for fear of incurring huge phone bills when they come back,” she explained.

Under the new set-up, Sun Cellular’s roaming rates for postpaid subscribers are categorized based on two zones – Middle East and America on one hand, and the rest of the world on the other.

 Under this scheme, Sun postpaid subscribers who are travelling to countries in America and the Middle East would only have to pay a flat rate of P18 per text message and P3 per 10 kilobytes of data.

On the other hand, subscribers bound for countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and Oceania would be charged a flat rate of P23 per text message and P5 per 10 kilobytes of data.

 “Under this new simplified pricing scheme, Sun postpaid subscribers would have an easier way to manage their roaming expenses. More than that, they will have the peace of mind of being able to stay connected with their family and friends in the Philippines while exploring the world,” she said.

Likewise, Sun postpaid subscribers may also avail of special rates when they are headed to countries covered by the Axiata Group.

Subscribers headed to Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, and Sri Lanka may tap the local networks under Axiata and pay only P15 per text message and P1 per 10 kilobytes of data.

Last year, the PLDT Group’s subscriber base reached 76.2 million, including 70.5 million cellular subscribers - Smart Communications Inc. with 25.9 million, Talk ‘N Text ended with 29.5 million and Sun Cellular with 15.1 million.