Smart unveils Korean SMS service

Telecom firm Smart Communications on Friday unveiled its newest SMS service which will enable Koreans in the Philippines to text in Korean to loved ones in their home country and vice versa. Dubbed as Korean SMS, the service ensures that all text messages passing through the SMART network, composed in Korean characters, are accurately sent and received by Koreans in the Philippines and in Korea. “SMART serves not just Filipinos, but also foreign nationals residing in the country and the people they communicate with abroad. In 2006 alone, over 3 billion international connections were logged on the SMART network, which includes those made by foreign nationals," said Danilo J. Mojica, head of SMART’s wireless consumer division. “Text messaging is a cost-effective communications vehicle, which people would use more if they can only communicate in their native tongue," he added. Before the launch of Korean SMS, Korean nationals in the country contend with sending text messages in English characters, since most ordinary GSM handsets do not support Korean-character SMS input. This limitation becomes more pronounced when the Korean recipient of an English SMS is not very proficient in the English language. Smart said that data from the Tourism department show that Koreans form the bulk of foreign tourists in the country, accounting for some 20.6 percent of foreign tourist arrivals at 213,094 from January to April this year. South Koreans in the Philippines also make up the largest community of overseas Koreans in Southeast Asia. As of February 2007, their count has been pegged at 92,608, roughly doubling since 2005. Smart is the largest wireless services provider in the country, with about 58 percent of the Philippine wireless market. - GMANews.TV