Lawyer Jane Paredes, Smart Communications Visayas head for corporate communications, (second from left) and Smart executives show satellite phones during the launch of the firm’s satellite phone service. (CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)
Smart Communications yesterday launched the first prepaid mobile satellite service called SmartSAT.
The satellite phone proved to be the gadget of last resort when all else fails, said Jane Paredes, Visayas head for corporate communications, as she referred to the recent calamities that hit Cebu.
“The day after Yolanda hit us, we accompanied Gov. Junjun (Hilario) Davide to Bantayan. Most of our cell sites were still down so the best way to communicate was through a satellite phone,” Paredes said.
SmartSAT is the first satellite service that brings satellite communications to a broader consumer market as it offers a satsleeve for iPhone and Adroid phones and the most compact satellite phone by Thuraya.