Tags: Internet, Mobile Phone Industry, Telecommunications
By Alexander Villafania
PASAY CITY, METRO MANILA – Smart Communications is looking at cashing in on the growing market for smartphones with the availability of models that fall below the P10,000 price tag.
The telecom firm is looking at applications development as a new means of revenue streams.
Just recently, Smart announced that it will be setting up an applications marketplace that would allow local applications developers to upload, distribute and sell their creations.
The marketplace would primarily be open to Smart subscribers who are using smartphones running on Google Android though developers can also opt to sell their applications to other apps marketplaces other than in the Philippines.
Nevertheless, developers can also target non-Android phones and create Java-based applications as well as for the Nokia Symbian operating system. Application programming interfaces (APIs) for Microsoft Windows Phone applications could also be made available.
The Smart marketplace will follow the specifications of the Wholesale Application Community (WAC), an international collaboration of telecommunications providers, and content and application developers.
Under WAC, Smart is able to implement a new system for developers allowing them to target specific subscribers.
Mitch Padua, head of Smart’s developer community relations, says Smart will have a revenue sharing agreement with the developers for their marketplace, probably on the standard 70-30 agreements.
Prices of the applications are yet to be determined global pricing standards for basic office-like applications is around $5 (approximately P200) each. Some can go as low as $1 (P43) to as high as $10 (P430).
Padua added that they are working with partner schools, specifically those that are already part of their Wireless Engineering and Education Program, to train students on the new WAC API standards.
Some of the participating schools in their recently held Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program (SWEEP) competition can also be given training.
Smart Network and Platforms Services Division Mario Tamayo said applications on smartphones are expected to grow in the coming years as low-cost, mass market phones become available in the Philippines.
These could have potential add-on revenue streams for Smart especially at a time when profits from their core SMS and voice calls have reached a plateau.
Of its 43 million subscribers from Smart, at least 8 million are said to be accessing the Internet on their phones. Incidentally, this about the same number of Filipinos that were accessing the Internet during the early 2000.
Smartearlier announced that they will be launching two sub-P10,000 smartphones, the Huawei Ideos and their own branded Netphone, both of which are running on Android version 2.2.
Related stories:
A sneak peak at Smart’s Android-powered Netphone
RP goes up to speed with mobile Internet
Social networking drives mobile data use among Filipinos
RP telecom revenues shift from SMS to mobile Internet
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