The war has gone all-out as Smart Communications joins the “unlimited” bandwagon by launching its own unlimited calling and texting scheme dubbed 25/8 (for me, an obvious play on the 24/7 scheme by rival Sun Cellular).  This is after Globe’s Touch Mobile brand launched “Todo Text” and “Todo Tawag Text.”

My take on the features of these new offerings:

• Sun cellular’s 24/7 scheme is,
  
  by far, the best in terms of ease of use and inter-operability of the
  
  service with existing network features.  It’s as simple as
  
  loading up a prepaid call card (as registration to the service). 
  
  Subsequently, a user would be able to place calls and send SMS the same
  
  way regular calls and SMS are placed.  Sadly, Sun’s network
  
  coverage is still limited at this time, and the network congestion
  
  brought about by the volume of calls and SMS sent has been bothersome.


• Smart still has the best network coverage of all the local GSM telcos. 
  
  Its network is superior in terms of reliability, but feature-wise has
  
  much to improve on.  To date, Smart does not even offer some basic
  
  value-added services that come with a GSM network like call
  
  divert/forwarding, an accurate call timer (with Smart’s prepaid
  
  network, your call timer begins counting once the call is placed, i.e.
  
  even before the called party answers), and even cost indicators sent by
  
  GSM signals (like with Globe, where you can instantly see the cost of
  
  your call onscreen along with the call duration–a nifty GSM feature). 
  
  Smart’s claim that its 25/8 system would be serviced by dedicated
  
  servers should be lauded–this will minimize congestion in the main
  
  network.  However, it’s sad that they chose to implement the use
  
  of SMS-commands in placing calls instead of a caller simply dialling
  
  the called party’s number, or at the very least pre-pending numbers or
  

  *-codes (i.e. including a *-based prefix and ending the call sequence
  
  with a # before pressing the SEND key), which to me would be more
  
  convenient than having to send an SMS to the server when one wants to
  
  place a call.
  



• Globe seems to have had it quite wrong when it chose to limit its “unlimited” service within the low-tier Touch Mobile brand. 
  
  TM is a low ARPU (average revenue per user) brand, and I wonder how
  
  Globe expects to profit from the scheme byfurther lowering revenue per
  
  user and increasing network use.  This exclusivity is not welcome
  
  to those already using Globe’s main network, and very limiting since
  
  the unlimited scheme only applies within the TM-brand network. 
  
  And consiering that TM is aimed at the low-tier market, the scheme
  
  seems to be lacking in affordability, since users can only enjoy
  
  unlimited calling if they avail of the month-long service for PhP 300
  
  (approximately US$ 5.50).  In contrast, Sun’s unlimited services
  
  can be availed for as low as PhP 100 (approx US$ 2.00), while Smart’s
  
  for PhP 110, both valid for ten days.
  

My two cents: I’d stick with my Sun unlimited for calling family and

friends within the network (and my Globe prepaid for those times when

Sun calls and SMS won’t push through).  I’d wait for Globe to

offer its unlimited service within the main network, hoping it’s a

better-refined service, with the reliability of Smart’s network and the

ease-of-use and affordability of Sun’s unlimited scheme.

And I think Smart should have thought of a better name.  Globe

should, too, when it decides to implement the service in its regular

network.

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