PLDT, Hutchison Whampoa Units Sign MVNO Deal in Italy
MANILA -(Dow Jones)- Philippine Long Distance Telephone Friday said a subsidiary has signed deals with two units of Hutchison Whampoa for a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO, venture in Italy.
PLDT said the MVNO service, branded "SMART Pinoy," anchored on the platform of mobile phone unit Smart Communications Inc., will offer cheap rates for mobile phone calls and text messaging from Italy to the Philippines.
The service will also offer electronic loading, sharing prepair mobile phone airtime credits, as well as popular services in Italy such as video calls and streaming.
The agreements were signed between PLDT Italy, Hutchison Global Communication and H3G, PLDT said in a statement.
As an MVNO, Smart Communications provides mobile phone services even without its own licensed frequency allocation in another country by using the technologies and infrastructure of mobile network operators in that country under a joint venture deal.
It has a similar MVNO venture in Hong Kong and Singapore, where, like in Italy, a lot of Filipinos work.
About nine million, or a tenth of the Philippines' population, work overseas.
-By Cecilia E. Yap, Dow Jones Newswires; (632) 848-5051; cecilia.yap@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
Posted to the site on 26th September 2008
