Smile Communications deepens broadband access with innovative solutions

Smile Communications Nigeria Limited, a broadband service provider, says it is enhancing broadband penetration in the country with the introduction of unique offerings geared towards keeping connected to its network at all times.

These solution are also meant to enhance broadband penetration in Nigerian and expand customers’ experience on the network. One of the products called ‘SmileON’ is the first service of its kind in Nigeria that helps customers stay online even when their bundle is at zero level. It ensures that customers connected to the Smile network will remain connected when their data bundle runs out within that bundle’s validity period. Other products are built around customer’s personal portal, such as MySmile portal, from where the customer can select data speed of the Smile service and can alternate such speed at will. 

There are also series of customer tips available on the website or on the Smile Facebook pages, that will help customers manage their data usage.

Another unique product is the Smile Super-fast Internet connection, which provides customers with high definition, when on another data service provider’s network that has low low data speed. 

This means that with Smile Super-fast Internet connection, customers will always get standard high definition, when on another service provider’s slow network. 

On the same personal portal page, customers can select to disable access to high data sites, and they can also deselect at any time.It can restrict people in the office from watching videos during productive office hours. It is also useful in restricting children from having access to certain sites. 

Announcing the new products, Lee-Anne Cassie, chief corporate services officer of Smile Communications, noted that SmileON becomes available automatically if a purchased bundle depletes before the end of its validity period. 

She emphasised that SmileON would be available until the end of that bundles validity period or until the allocated usage allowance is depleted during the validity period.

She stated that this is done to sustain customers until another bundle is purchased within 30 days. SmileON, she further stated, also allows access to unlimited sites and applications and extends to banking and news services, browsing, email, social networking, Skype voice calls, messaging, government sites, Wikipedia among others. 

On the likely prime beneficiaries of the unique service offering, Cassie disclosed that “all customers who purchase 5GB or larger data bundles per month are automatic beneficiaries”. She said all customers using SmileON, are allocated the usage allowance for the SmileON product on the following basis. 

For a 5GB bundle, there is a SmileON allowance of 1GB with a validity period that starts from when the bundle depletes and valid to the end of the bundle validity period. A 10GB bundle ensures a 2GB SmileON allowance which starts from when bundle depletes and valid to the end of the bundle validity period. 

Any bundle from 20GB and above attracts a 2GB SmileON allowance with validity that spans when bundle depletes and valid for 30 days within the validity period of the bundle.

Cassie explained that “should a customer attempt to use a site application not available on SmileON, that customer will be directed to the web page notifying him or her that there was a trial to access a site that is unavailable. 

From this point the customer can return to any allowed site or purchase a new data bundle to gain full Internet access”. Once a customer purchases a new bundle, normal Internet access will be restored automatically, she said. Other benefits that will accrue to SmileON patrons, according to Cassie, include access to essential sites during the validity period of their purchased data bundles, it allows customers to carry out banking transactions with zero bundle balance, allows access at all times to Wikipedia and the Smile Website during the validity period, and keeps customers connected when their data bundle is at zero.

Ben Uzor