PLDT Global Corporation (PGC), the international arm of leading digital services provider PLDT, received a nod from Telecom Asia Awards for its Free Bee mobile application.
A VoIP solution available in over 180 countries, Free Bee bested entries from Philippines’ Globe Telecom, South Korea’s SK Telecom, and Indonesia’s Telin Telekom under Telecom Asia Awards’ Most Innovative Voice Solution category. The innovation targets the estimated two million Filipinos who leave the country every year to augment their family’s financial standing and are in need of communication services to help them stay connected with their loved ones back home.
Now on its 22nd year, the Telecom Asia Awards is the region’s longest-running industry awards program which seeks to recognize the continent’s premier telecommunications service providers and executives. It is organized annually by Telecom Asia, the largest telecom publishing group in the region.
PGC’s advertising-based voice service delivers high-quality IDD calls to the Philippines for free. For longer calls and an ad-free experience, users have the option to buy Premium Free Bee Voice buckets at affordable rates – as low as 1 US cent per minute – from global retailers or via in-app and online purchases.
A wholly-owned subsidiary of PLDT, PGC has footprint in several countries across different regions worldwide. It provides international telecommunications services including wholesale and enterprise, voice, SMS and data, as well as a range of digital products and platfroms designed to serve the 10.2M Filipinos working and living abroad.
Aside from Free Bee, Telecom Asia also recognized innovations of Smart, PLDT’s wireless services subsidiary. The mobile provider received nominations for its education program School-in-a-Bag (Most Innovative Community Telecom Project category), Smart’s Credit Score Service (Most Innovative Approach to Analytics category), and Smart Free YouTube Everyday (Most Innovative Over-The-Top/OTT Video Service category).
This year’s Telecom Asia Awards consist of 28 categories that are divided into three distinct groups: Innovation, Service Providers, and Leadership. The categories represent current and emerging trends in the communications sector. Shortlisted organizations represent innovators from their respective industries who have displayed excellence in the delivery of innovative services.
For more information on Free Bee and other PLDT Global innovations, visit www.freebeecalls.com and www.pldtglobal.com.
