Smart Communications Press Release

At the GSMA Global Mobile Awards
Philippine Telco Wins First Green Mobile Award

Receiving the awards from A.T. Kearney's Dr. Soreon Grabowski (leftmost) and presenter Michael McIntyre (second from right) are SMART Chief Wireless Advisor Orlando B. Vea and Network Platforms and Services Division Head Mario G. Tamayo.  (Photo by Alex D. Ibasco)

 [Barcelona, Spain/ February 18, 2009] -  For its program promoting the use of wind and solar energy to power cell sites in remote areas of the country, the Philippines' leading wireless services provider Smart Communications Inc. (SMART) has won the newly introduced “Green Mobile Award” at the 2009 global congress of the mobile phone industry. 

Receiving the award at the annual gala dinner of GSM Association (GSMA) at the National Palace in Barcelona, Orlando B. Vea, SMART’s Chief Wireless Advisor, said, “We’re very honored by this award because it’s not just about our mobile business. It’s about our planet – yours and mine.”

"We are proud that a Philippine company has won the first green award to be given by the GSMA. Given the growing global concern about climate change, this is a very relevant and meaningful award that will challenge us to do more," said Napoleon L. Nazareno, SMART president and CEO.

SMART’s “Alternative Power for Cell Sites” program uses renewable energy sources to power cell sites in “off-grid locations” or areas where setting up and operating a cell site is not normally feasible.  To date, Smart has about 68 cell sites in different areas across the Philippines powered by renewable energy.  Of this figure, 41 are run by wind energy while 27 are hybrid – using both wind and solar energy.

Benefits of the program include reduced operational costs due to lower diesel consumption, reduced oil spills and carbon emissions, better community relations and seamless data/ voice service in off-grid areas.  The successful deployment of alternative energy-powered cell sites has also encouraged the company to pursue other pro-environment alternative energy solutions.

Judges described SMART’s entry as “an impressive  project showing real benefits – this reduces fuel and handling costs, pollution, and noise – as well as making mobile communications more widely available by enabling cell sites in off-grid locations.”

SMART won over entries from companies such as  Nokia Siemens Networks (Environmentally Sustainable Business (ESB) initiative), Vodafone (Reducing Network Energy Use), Alcatel-Lucent (Eco-sustainable Communications Transformation), and Telenor (Climate Change Programme).

The Green Mobile Award was sponsored by A.T. Kearney, the driver and leader in the consulting profession around sustainability committed to become the first carbon-neutral top-management consultancy in the world.

The Green Mobile Award aims to recognize mobile operators that have initiated programs and projects to promote environmental protection and sustainability. This includes initiatives that utilize alternative energy sources, recycling programs, use of mobile applications or products that reduce impact of the industry on the environment, employee engagement activities that increase environmental awareness and the like.

SMART, through its Network Platforms and Services Division,  started working with a local vendor in December 2006 to set up the Philippines’ first wind-powered cell site in Sitio Guimbitayan in Malapascua Island, an island northeast of Cebu province in the Visayas region. After several studies, SMART started to formalize and intensify its “Alternative Power for Cellsites” program in 2008.

In the latter part of 2008, a GSMA Development Fund survey of 25 mobile operators across the developing world that use renewable energy sources revealed that SMART is the leader among mobile network operators worldwide in using wind energy to power its cell sites.

“Our congratulations to all the winners in tonight’s Global Mobile Awards,” said Rob Conway, CEO of the GSMA. “The mobile industry continues to provide a much needed economic stimulus in terms of its ability to drive enterprise, innovation and social development via anytime access to information, education, entertainment and so much more. Tonight we have seen so many exceptional examples of this among the many thousands of products and services on show at the Mobile World Congress.”

SMART also received nominations in the Best Use of Mobile for Social and Economic Development category and the Marketing & Promotion-Best Broadcast Commercial category for the Infoboard Community Solution and the SMART Bring Me Along TV Commercial for Uzzap, respectively, making it the only Filipino company with the most number of nominations in any given GSM Awards season.

This year’s GSM Awards attracted more than 450 companies vying for 16 open categories ranging from mobile services, breakthrough technologies and use of mobile for socio-economic development.

Previously, SMART has received recognition from the prestigious GSM awards. In 2001, SMART won the Most Innovative GSM Wireless Service for Customers award for its electronic wallet service Smart Money. Meanwhile, SMART Load, the over-the-air prepaid reloading service, was cited as the Best Mobile Application or Service - Consumer Market in 2004. Most recently, SMART's "1-in-5 Panalo" promo implemented for the global cola brand Pepsi was awarded Best Mobile Advertising in the GSMA's inaugural Asia Mobile Awards 2007.

The Annual Global Mobile Awards ceremony is one of the highlights of the GSMA Mobile World Congress, the world’s leading event for the mobile communications industry. More than 49 thousand professionals from the mobile industry attended the congress.

About Smart Communications, Inc. (SMART)

Smart Communications, Inc. is the Philippines' leading wireless services provider with 35.2 million subscribers on its GSM network as of end-December 2008. Of its total subscriber base, 20.9 million subscribers are served under the brands Smart Buddy, Smart Gold and Smart Infinity and another 14.3 million subscribers are served through its subsidiary, Pilipino Telephone Corp., under the brand Talk 'N Text. SMART has built a reputation for innovation, having introduced world-first wireless data services, including mobile commerce services such as Smart Money, Smart Load and Smart Padala. SMART also offers a 3G service, Smart 3G. Its Smart Link and Blue Ocean Wireless services provide communications to the global maritime industry. Another subsidiary, Smart Broadband, Inc., offers a wireless broadband service, Smart BRO. SMART is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Philippines' leading telecommunications carrier, the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company. For more information, visit http://www.smart.com.ph/.
 

An earlier (October, 2008) Smart press release on their wind power projects is available at:  click here