The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) is offering free Internet access to prepaid subscribers of Smart, Sun Cellular, and Talk N’ Text for the next two months to encourage the habit of using the Internet and set the stage for e-commerce participation among the “unbanked or non-carded” population.
PLDT Group chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said the unprecedented promotional offer is meant to tap the 66 million prepaid subscribers of the three telecommunications service providers.
Of this population, only 20 million are using smartphones but only a third of this number actually use their data-enabled devices to access the Internet.
However, Pangilinan clarified that while the promotion is free Internet access, it is limited.
Under the promotion, prepaid subscribers can browse social media sites, send and receive emails, shop online, listen to online music streaming, use traffic navigational apps, visit any websites, or search online using up to 30 megabytes of data per day until November 30 without recurring data charges.
Regular charges will apply when browsing video-streaming sites or downloading video files.
Pangilinan assured both prepaid and postpaid subscribers that the PLDT’s wireless network infrastructure is “ready” to handle the data traffic as a result of the promotional offer. (Kris Bayos)