SMART Communications Inc. and Sun Cellular dominated the mobile postpaid segment last year after posting a 16-percent rise in their combined subscriber base to over 2.8 million customers, representing 55 percent of the total mobile-postpaid market in the Philippines.
The postpaid segment also ended 2014 with P21.7 billion in revenues, a 14-percent increase from the year prior, accounting for 21 percent of the total cellular revenues for the wireless business of dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT).
“The gains posted by Smart and Sun in 2014 are attributed to PLDT’s integrated wireless network with unparalleled capacity, reach and resiliency, and premium-packed device and content offers,” Smart Executive Vice President Charles A. Lim said on Monday.
In 2014 Smart unveiled a strong lineup of smartphone offerings for all types of postpaid users, including flagship devices, such as the Samsung Galaxy S5, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, the Sony Xperia Z1 and Z2, and the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Smart also introduced postpaid plans that came with entry-level handsets, data allowance, and access to unlimited music streaming via Spinnr.
On top of this, postpaid subscribers were also given access to 35 million songs on-the-go through Smart’s exclusive partnership with global music streaming service Deezer.
To further bolster its postpaid growth, Smart recently introduced a revitalized postpaid lineup with better handset choices, bigger data volume allowances, and free music streaming via Deezer for two years. Sun, on the other hand offered its, postpaid subscribers wearable devices through value-packed packages. Sun Postpaid also offered add-ons, such as the Value MIX, which allowed subscribers to beef up their plans by creating their own bundles.
In support of its expanded folio of device and services, Sun Cellular also increased retail presence during the year with the launch of the Sun Shop on Wheels—a new retail channel designed to provide the same in-store services as the regular Sun Shops. Rolled out at key cities of Metro Manila and selected provincial areas, the Sun Shop on Wheels is designed to meet daily customer transactions in areas where there is limited access to Sun retail outlets.
To complement the device and plan offers introduced in 2014, Smart and Sun unveiled digital content services which changed the way Filipino mobile users live and communicate.
These digital content offers include access to unlimited music streaming via the Smart-developed music app, Spinnr; digital downloads of Summit Publishing titles via e-bookstore, Buqo; video streaming via Viewstream and Blink; online gaming e-Pins via GameX, among others. Smart subscribers also enjoyed millions of apps on Google Play Store and Apple iTunes, which can now be charged to their monthly postpaid bills.
Lim said the companies will continue to build on the gains attained during the previous year.
“The year 2014 presented us with opportunities to shape the mobile lifestyles of Filipinos. By introducing our subscribers to an ‘always-on’ mobile data experience, and by giving them more ways to access information and content, we are able to build habit and spur usage among our subscribers, and to translate this to sustained revenue streams for the postpaid businesses of Smart and Sun,” he said.