MANILA, Philippines—“Whenever we ask OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) what they need during this global financial crisis, the answer is the same: Any little way we can save, we will welcome it,” said Perry V. Bayani, head of Smart Communications Inc.’s sales and business development and international services group, during a pre-launch briefing for Plug ’N Talk (PNT).

Smart’s newest offering is said to be the first USB communications device in the Philippines that allows those outside the country to call and text from an Internet-connected PC to any Philippine mobile and landline number using their Smart SIM.

PNT is positioned as a niche service for Internet-connected Filipinos abroad who want to call Philippine landline or mobile numbers for as low as P6.50 a minute.

The setup allows a subscriber to access the Smart network via the Internet at home, at work, or in an Internet café, and enjoy call rates for as low as P6.50 per minute. The price of text messages is as low as P1. There are no international roaming or hidden charges.

“Plug ’N Talk is a breakthrough product because we’ve taken the communications experience beyond the phone-to-phone scenario,” said Rufino S. Fermin, Smart’s manager for international services and OFW market. Now OFWs simply have to connect to the Internet, plug in their Plug ’N Text USB device, which has a 1-GB variant that can be used for storage, and then use a soft phone interface on their PC to call anyone in the Philippines.

Fermin added that PNT’s value proposition over other services using VOIP such as Skype is that PNT’s call rates are slightly lower yet the voice quality is much better. The interface also allows users to text, get top ups, and purchase online items from partner-merchants for loved ones in the Philippines.

The Smart Plug ’N Talk will be initially available at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 1 and the Mactan Cebu International Airport.

“We are launching it in the Philippines first since many OFWs are expected to be home for the holidays,” said Ramon Isberto, public relations chief of Smart. “This way, they will get better access to the product and they can bring it with them when they go abroad again.”

The product will soon be made available in the United States and Japan, as well as in the Middle East and Europe.

The PNT kit is priced at P1,800. It includes the Plug ’N Talk device, an earpiece and a free Smart Pinoy SIM with free P20 load.

The PNT system may be used on any Windows OS. A version for Mac OS is currently being developed and will be launched soon.

According to figures from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, there are about 8.7 million Filipinos abroad as of end-2007. At any one time, Smart has 900,000 to 1 million roaming subscribers on its network. Fermin said that these subscribers can choose to avoid costly roaming fees by using PNT instead.

Smart claims to be the Filipino’s biggest mobile network to the world, serving 34.2 million subscribers on its GSM network as of end-September 2008.

Its products and services are available in over 200 countries abroad having ties with over 400 international network partners. Through PLDT Global, Smart also serves the mobile communication needs of Filipinos in Singapore, Hong Kong and Italy via 1528 Smart.