Smart Communications

Smart Communications Inc.
Wholly owned subsidiary of PLDT
Industry Communications Services
Remittance
Founded Manila, Philippines (1991)
Headquarters 6799 Ayala Avenue, Makati City, Philippines
Key people
 Manuel V. Pangilinan, Chairman
Napoleon L. Nazareno, President and CEO
Products Broadband Services
Cellular Telephony
Revenue IncreasePHP 93.4 billion (Increase11%)
($2.12 billion) (2007)
IncreasePHP 30.7 billion (Increase1%)
($700.6 million) (2007)
Parent PLDT
Website www.smart.com.ph

Smart Communications is a wholly owned mobile phone and Internet service subsidiary of PLDT.[1] It is also known for introducing the world's first electronic prepaid reloading service.

As of May 2014, combined subscriber base of Smart, Talk 'n Text and Sun Cellular reached 70.7 million customers.

Smart introduced the first 4G Service in the Philippines.[2] It also provides 2G, 3G, 3.5G HSPA+, 4G LTE, LTE-A services, WiMax, and an SMS-based money remittance system.[3] Smart has 10,509 operating cell sites, 13,149 cellular/mobile broadband base stations, and 2,806 fixed wireless broadband-enabled base stations.[4]

History

Smart logo (2011–2016)

Anticipating the liberalization of the telecommunications industry in the Philippines in 1992, Smart (then named Smart Information Technology, Inc.) was organized in January 24, 1991 by a group of Filipino investors led by Orlando B. Vea and David T. Fernando.

The Company obtained its congressional franchise in April 1992 and was granted a provisional authority to operate a mobile cellular service in May 1993. In December 1993, Smart commenced commercial operations of its cellular service. By then, Smart had drawn in partners. These were: First Pacific, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate through its Philippine flagship Metro Pacific Investments Corporation and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone of Japan (NTT).

In compliance with the government’s telecommunications program, Smart established a local exchange service in the cities and provinces assigned to it under the “service area scheme.” The Company also obtained licenses to provide international gateway, paging and inter-carrier transmission services.[5]

On March 24, 2000, PLDT completed its share-swap acquisition of Smart, making Smart a 100%-owned PLDT subsidiary.

Smart Communications became a member of Conexus Mobile Alliance for international roaming since December 2006.[6]

On February 24, 2016, Smart forged a partnership deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), to become the MMA brand's mobile carrier service in the Philippines. Smart will also carry UFC Fight Pass, a video digital platform of the UFC. The deal coincided with the Manila visit of UFC fighter Stephen Thompson.[7]

On April 13, 2016, Smart introduced the first commercial LTE-A Service at Boracay, Aklan which they claimed maximum speeds of up to 260 Mbps.

On June 13, 2016, Smart and its parent company PLDT unveiled their new logos and identity as part of the company's continuing digital pivot.[8]

Subsidiaries

Radio frequency summary

Frequencies used by Smart Communications
Frequency Protocol Class
900 MHz
GSM/GPRS/EDGE
2G
1800 MHz
GSM/GPRS/EDGE
2G
850 MHz
UMTS/HSDPA/HSPA+
3G
900 MHz UMTS/HSDPA/HSPA+ 3G
2100 MHz
UMTS/HSDPA/HSPA+
3G
700 MHz
[10]
LTE
4G
850 MHz
LTE
4G
1800 MHz
LTE
4G
2100 MHz
LTE
4G

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sullivan, Nicholas P. (2007). You Can Hear Me Now: How Microloans and Cell Phones are Connecting the World's Poor To the Global Economy. John Wiley & Sons. p. 123. ISBN 9780787994631.
  2. ↑ "Smart to Launch First 4G Service in the Philippines This Weekend". TechinAsia. August 21, 2012. Retrieved 2014-06-07.
  3. ↑ "Smart's phone-based remittance system in the Philippines". Global Economic Prospects 2006: Economic Implications of Remittances and Migration. World Bank Publications. 2006. p. 150. ISBN 9780821363454.
  4. ↑ "Corporate Profile - Smart Communications". Retrieved 2014-06-07.
  5. ↑ "About Smart Communication". elitefavors.net. June 14, 2010. Retrieved 2014-06-07.
  6. ↑ http://www.conexusmobile.com/alliance-sub-ph.html
  7. ↑ "UFC and Smart announce milestone partnership" (Press release). Smart. February 24, 2016. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  8. ↑ "PLDT, Smart unveil new logo in line with 'digital pivot'". PLDT. June 13, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "PLDT General Information Sheet" (PDF) (Press release). 8 May 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  10. ↑ http://smart.com.ph/About/newsroom/press-releases/2016/06/09/pldt-smart-fire-up-first-three-700-mhz-powered-cell-sites
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