EDIT: To check balance for ALWAYS ON Promo, send GOLD BAL for SMART Gold and BAL for Prepaid. Send to 2200.
SMART has been releasing new Internet surfing packages. If you own a smartphone that hooks up to data, there’s a brand new package that’s been made more affordable for mobile phone browsing. I used to pay an additional PHP 1200 a month for mobile Internet — that’s unlimited Internet use for 30 days on my Samsung Galaxy S II. That obviously burns a hole in my wallet — it’s not just me echoing this sentiment, but many other mobile warriors who need to be always online yet want to only be charged based on the volume of data then use.
Instead of time-based usage, SMART has launched new volume based usage plans that are extraordinarily affordable.
If all you’re doing is Twitter, Facebook, checking in to Foursquare and chatting with friends via Yahoo Messenger and Kik Messenger via your phone, you only need 250 MB – 500 MB of bandwidth per month. It gets higher if you start tethering (remember, running app versions of your favorite services on a smartphone decreases bandwidth usage). What’s even cooler is that the system sends out a warning if you’re at 80% capacity of bandwidth allocation, allowing you to re-subscribe. To check your balance, send BAL to 2200 for prepaid and GOLD BAL to 2200 for postpaid.
Again, this is SO MUCH CHEAPER than subscribing to PHP 15 / 30 minutes and PHP 50 / day of Internet.
What if I want to use a USB dongle for my computer?
Before, we were tied down to fixed monthly fees and a LOCK IN PERIOD which everybody hated. So what SMART did was to remove the fixed monthly fees and lock in period allowing you to use the dongle to whatever plan you desired — whether you go for the time-based usage, PHP 15/30 minutes usage or yes .. this new volume-based consumable usage (Unlisurf, Per Minute, Volume, Prepaid Lifestyle). You can leave the country, come back, and not worry about wasting a month’s worth of data fees. It’s really customizable. Remember, the USB stick is only half the magic. It’s the fact that you can customize your usage and bills.
The Starter Dongle costs only PHP 995.00 with free one hour of surfing. But again, I do have to stress that there are no strings attached to the USB dongle. You can subscribe to different plans via the Web Connect application.
My unlimited data plan expires on the 29th. I’m looking forward to cutting my bill with these new plans (and also really get to see how much data I’m consuming from Tweets, Facebook and the occasional app download.)
Disclosure: I’m a consultant for SMART Communications.
15 replies on “SMART Communications launches Volume Based Data Plans and Starter Dongle”
Hi Jayvee.
Nice article!
Is this for prepaid? Does SMART allow wireless internet tethering from android phones to other devices for prepaid subscribers?
it’s for prepaid and post-paid. wireless tethering is allowed. i do that all the time.
Very good! 🙂 Can we use our old plug-it dongles for the new plan as well?
you should be able to =) end of the day, a dongle is just a simplified phone with a sim card.
this got me thinking. should i give up my monthly plan of 1800 which includes unlimited data or stick to it?
@reggie you’re thinking the same thing i’m thinking. i’m glad that i didn’t get a data plan. i got the renewable 1200 a month unlimited. but i know for a fact that i don’t consume a lot of bandwidth since all im doing is FB and Twitter.
Here’s a handy data data calculator http://www.att.com/standalone/data-calculator/
There’s a legend at the bottom of the page that shows the average amount of data used per service.
These plans look great though. Specially for people who have access to wifi hotspots most of the time. Sana meron din Globe. hehe
Ugh! So much with all these hypes. SMART is a big time thief!
nakakaasara ang unlimited nyo, magpapasok ng kayu sa unli, indi naman kayu makapagpawatg, buti pa ang globe, mahirap ng makapasok pero sulit naman pag nakapasok ka na, unlimited talaga ang tawagan di tulad ng smart, unli nga, di naman makatawag.
nakakaasar ang unlimited nyo, magpapasok nga kayu sa unli, indi naman kayu makapagpatawag, buti pa ang globe, mahirap ng makapasok pero sulit naman pag nakapasok ka na, unlimited talaga ang tawagan di tulad ng smart, unli nga, di naman makatawag.
im a little bit confused.please help me. im not sure if i should go with the 995 or 300.im using whatsapp application,opera and web browser and a little downloading.should that be okay with just 250mb?
@leslie in my experience I use around 300-500MB a month of data. suggest you allocate more than 250MB.
@Jayvee are you using this smartbro the whole day?
or do you connect to other internet wi-fi like
from home and office?
@Gary:
At home I have Sky Broadband (for home use, Cable is always better!) but for mobile I use an unlimited data plan. If I need to tether to my laptop I use my iPhone 4s as well. Pretty fast — 80KB/s on my Menu Meter count.
im registered but i can’t connect to the internet. im using samsung galaxy y duos, pls help.