Communication Rates

SIM Card Purchase for The Philippines

Cellular Abroad SIM Card for The Philippines 

A Philippines Prepaid SIM Card, together with a tri-band unlocked GSM cell phone, will allow you not only to have a local cell phone number for the Philippines but also to access local voice and mobile broadband rates. Typical roaming rates with a US or Canadian carrier are exorbitant and beyond most people's budget. The service is pay as you go and features unlimited free incoming calls from anywhere, low outgoing calls as well as great rates for data. Smart is the largest carrier in the Philippines and offers great coverage and service. For your next trip to the Philippines, be sure to purchase a Smart Buddy prepaid SIM card

Information and Talk Rates Chart

Key Features Local phone number for the Philippines Free incoming calls Voicemail Text Messaging Initial Credit 300 pesos (approx. USD $7.14) 40 min. Domestic Outgoing 18 min. Outgoing to US

Domestic Talk Rates Incoming Free US$0.15/min Talk Rates to US/Canada* Incoming Free US$0.40/min Text / SMS Rates Incoming Free $.02 domestic / $.35 intl. Internet/Data Service $0.23 per 30 minutes

*You can find more detailed information on rates including roaming charges here.

Detailed Features

• A Philippines (Smart Buddy) pre-paid SIM card and cell phone number-you'll have the number before you depart

• Complete with 300 Pesos initial airtime, worth roughly $7.14 - that's at least 40 minutes of outgoing calls within Philippines or 18 minutes back to the U.S.

• Unlimited FREE incoming calls from anywhere

• Domestic rates as low as $0.15 cents per minute

• Calls back to the US and Canada only $0.40 cents per minute.

• Add more call credits as needed by purchasing easily-obtainable recharge voucher cards in various denominations

• Voicemail/SMS/WAP and Data at speeds up to 2000 mbps

• No yearly contract, monthly charges, daily minimum charges, minimum minutes per call charges or credit checks

Your Philippines Cell phone Number:

Your 10-digit cellular phone number for Philippines is displayed on the SIM card in the area above the face of the SIM chip. (It can be seen through the see-through window if your card arrived in a metal container.)

Activating your service:

• Go to The Philippines

• Be sure that battery is charged

• Turn on your phone

• Your first call activates the service.

• Use the included Php 500 recharge card to add to your initial talk time.

Call Credit:

For balance inquiries, use the SMART menu and select Buddy Balance. You'll receive a message stating your current pre-paid PESO and FREE TEXT balances. You can also send an SMS message to 214 with the following message: ?1515. Your remaining PESO and FREE TEXT balances will be returned in an SMS message. (This is a free message to send.) Finally, you can dial 1515 <SEND>.

Recharging Your SIM Card:

Additional call credit can be added by purchasing a "Smart Buddy Call and Text Card" recharge card. They are sold in P300 ($7.14 USD), P500 ($11.76 USD) and P1000 ($23.53 USD) denominations at tobacco shops, magazine kiosks and any convenience store displaying the "Smart Buddy" logo. You get 33 free text messages with the P300 recharge card, 83 with the P500 card and 250 with the P1000 card. Even if you have zero credit, you will still be able to receive calls for free.

Once you have purchased a recharge card, simply follow these easy instructions:

• Simply scratch off the protective coating to reveal your voucher code

• Dial 1510 plus your voucher code and then press <SEND>

• Upon successful entry of the code, your account will be credited and you will receive verbal confirmation of your success.

Detailed Rates:

Rates are based on per-minute charges. After the first minute, calls are billed in 6-second increments. For up-to-date currency exchange rates, use the Currency Converter.

Domestic	Per min.
Local landines & National Direct Dial	P 7.5 (~$0.14 USD)
Calls to SMART clients	P 6.5 (~$0.12 USD)
Buddy WAP via circuit switched data	P 6.5 (~$0.12 USD)
Buddy to other cellular providers	P 7.5 (~$0.14 USD)

International	Per min.
USA & Canada, Europe	$0.40
Ghana, India, Pakistan	$0.98
Falkland Islands, Midway Island	$2.18

All incoming calls are always FREE

SMS:

SMS messages within the Philippines are Php 1 ($0.02 USD) per 160-character message. International SMS messages are Php 15 ($0.28 USD). All incoming SMS messages are free.

Customer Service:

Customer service for your Philippines prepaid SIM card is available 24 hr./day by dialing *888 at any time from your Philippines cellular phone. From a landline, dial +63 (632) 888-1111. You may also send a text message to 888 from your handset.

Service Life:

The SMART Buddy prepaid SIM must be activated before the stated expiry date printed on the back of the SIM packaging. You have 60 days to use the initial credit upon activation. Any remaining value will be forfeited after 60 days.

When your account balance reaches zero, you have 120 days to reload more airtime to keep your account active. During this time, you may still receive incoming calls for free as well as make calls to toll-free numbers as well as make collect calls. At the end of this time, if you have not added additional credit, your SIM card will be decommissioned and your prepaid account will be terminated.

Multi-Country Travel 

You can also purchase other SIM cards as well for other countries to where you may be traveling. (This option is good for those planning on doing a lot of local calling.) We also offer an international roaming Talk Abroad™ SIM Card that is convenient for travel to multiple countries. (This option is useful for those wanting a single number for use in multiple countries and who will be making more calls back home than locally.)

- See more at: http://www.cellularabroad.com/philippinesSIMcard.php#sthash.5ki0IJaf.dpuf