Mobile data-in-sachets bag ACA Innovation Award

PowerApp, a mobile app that tucks data in more affordable “sachets” for 24x7 access to Facebook, WhatsApp, Viber, Instagram and other highly-valued Internet services recently won in the Innovation Category of the 2015 Asia Communication Awards (ACA).

“Quite naturally, sachet data was born in an emerging market where the great majority of subscribers cannot afford an ‘alwayson’ data plan and where Wi-Fi hotspots are few and far between,” said Orlando B. Vea, chief executive officer of Voyager Innovations, Inc.

“The Philippines in particular has led a legacy of such innovations as sachet load (E-load), peerto-peer load transfer (PasaLoad), and unlimited (Unli) call and texts; what we term ‘inclusive innovations’ that made telco network services accessible to everyone,” he added.

Today, with the rise of smartphones and compelling social networking, media and messaging apps, PowerApp represents the next stage -- making mobile data accessible to all.”

PowerApp’s first telco carrier is Smart Communications in the Philippines which made the service available for over 70 million subscribers under its Smart, Talk ‘N Text, and Sun Cellular brands.

The ACA cited PowerApp’s pioneering data infrastructure that is able to shape traffic so as to deliver sufficient bandwidth and the precise speeds for accessing specific services, dramatically decreasing the cost of 24x7 connectivity, and bringing access and affordability to the masses.

The award further noted PowerApp’s rapid adoption. In just over a year since its release, PowerApp now has approximately 11 million users, many of whom are pre-paid subscribers now enjoying the erstwhile privilege of being “always-on.”

Fueled by Voyager Innovations, the digital arm of Smart, PowerApp was launched in December 2013.