Smart taps sari-sari stores for café negosyo package

Following the successful sachet marketing approach adopted by the cellular phone business in the Philippine market, Internet service will have its own sachet concept utilizing sari-sari stores all over the country.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company's (PLDT) subsidiary Smart Communication is going to pioneer the sachet concept offering of Internet service nationwide, the SmartBro access giving Sari-Sari Stores the opportunity to venture into mini-Internet cafés.

In an interview with PLDT president Napoleon Nazareno said Smart is now formulating an offering which gives sari-sari store operators around the country another business opportunity, by providing PC (Personal Computer) loan so that they can start offering Internet service to its customers.

"We can give them [sari-sari store owners] credit to buy PCs," Nazareno said.

Through the SmartBro service, which is a "fixed wireless solution" to provide broadband Internet access, the mainstream market will be able to avail of Internet service in a very low per hour rate.

According to Nazareno, "broadbanding" is the key to keep healthy business growth in the telecommunications' fixed line industry. Thus, it is important that majority of Filipinos will be able to appreciate the Internet service, just like the mobile service few years back.

"We are stepping back, and looked at what we did in cellular before," Nazareno said referring to the high cost of cellular units few years back which hampered the interest of using mobile service through cellular phone.

Now, that the cellular business is at its high penetration rate, Nazareno said PLDT will have to take another pioneering move, to introduce Internet usage to the mainstream market.

He said one of the problems why most Filipinos are not yet fully embracing the Internet, to the point of needing it as one of its important services at home, is because of the high cost of PCs.

However, he projected that very soon PC cost will dive to an affordable level for Filipinos in the next few years.

SmartBro rides on the nationwide cellular network of Smart to wirelessly deliver broadband Internet service to a subscriber's personal computer, eliminating the need for a phone line.

The "wireless" connection is established from a wireless broadband radio base station at the nearest Smart cellsite to the subscriber's home via a Smart Bro antenna. Cables connect the antenna to the subscriber's PC.

To enjoy the strongest possible high speed Internet connection, the subscriber's antenna must have a clear "line-of-sight" alignment and be within a 1.5 km. radius from a Smart cellsite.

The service brings broadband Internet to places that in the past were beyond the reach of the World Wide Web.

Subscribers will need a PC with Pentium II or higher, 128 MB RAM or higher (preferable 256 MB RAM), Ethernet/ LAN Card, at least 10GB of hard disk space and operating system of Windows 98, 2000, XP, Linux or McIntosh OS. Initially, Smart Bro is available on one package at PhP999.00 monthly, VAT inclusive.