MVP, Smart nominated for international awards

PLDT and Smart Communications chief executive officer Manuel V. Pangilinan is nominated for CEO of the Year at the Asia Communication Awards (ACA), a prestigious recognition program organized by industry publication Total Telecom.

Other telco CEOs nominated for the award are Stephen Ho of CITIC Telecom CPC, Yvonne Li of Far Eas Tone Telecommunications, Andrew Kwok of HGC Global Communications, and Wing Kui Lee of YTL Communications Sdn Bhd.

Under Pangilinan’s leadership, Smart embarked on a network transformation program to enhance the coverage and speed of Smart’s 3G and LTE networks. This entailed reallocating more frequencies to 3G and LTE, integrating Smart and subsidiary Sun’s existing networks, and re-equipping cell sites with low-frequency and high-frequency bands to improve both coverage and capacity, in order to meet the increasing mobile data demands of Filipinos.

Smart’s network transformation took a big chunk of parent company PLDT’s ramped-up capital expenditure program of P40 billion for 2017. The efforts are paying off, with mobile analytics firm Open Signal recognizing Smart for having the country’s fastest LTE network – 12.5 MBps in the November 2017 to January 2018 period, versus its rival’s 7.69 MBps.

Smart’s network transformation program is also nominated at the ACA for the Network Transformation Initiative citation. Meanwhile, the #LevelUpToLTe campaign – which encourages Filipinos to switch to LTE to take advantage of Smart’s improved network – is shortlisted at the AMEC International Communication Effectiveness Awards, under the category Most Effective Consumer PR Campaign. This awards program is organized by the International Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communication.

At the ACA, the pivot of Smart value brand TNT from a “Talk ‘N Text” brand to a digital brand is shortlisted for Best Brand Campaign. TNT repositioned itself as a brand connecting young friends or tropas through affordable services like the Tropa Apps.

The TNT Tropa Apps, which gives subscribers the flexibility to access chosen apps at a very affordable price, is nominated for the ACA’s Digital Lifestyle Award.

Meanwhile, the Smart School-in-a-Bag is in the running for the Social Contribution Award. This is a package containing a laptop, five tablets, TV, a solar panel with batteries, and educational content that is donated to remote communities, especially those without electricity. It seeks to improve learning among Filipinos in underserved areas through a mix of technology and non-tech solutions.

Since launching the program in 2016, Smart and its partner donors have delivered 38 School-in-a-Bag units to 65 learning communities all over the country. Each bag, inclusive of training for teachers, costs P100,000.

Winners of the AMEC Awards will be announced in Barcelona on June 14. ACA winners will be revealed in Singapore on June 27.