Smart Communications launches KIQ, an app-based mobile service, to attract the Gen Z market and regain its position as the leading mobile provider in the Philippines.
Smart Communications Inc., a wireless unit of PLDT Inc., is targeting Gen Z customers with a new mobile brand to regain its position as the top mobile provider in the Philippines.
The company on Friday launched its new mobile brand, KIQ, which it says is the Philippines’ first and only fully app-based service. The brand is one of the first in the world to offer a personalized digital telecom experience aimed at Gen Z.
“We’re not just launching a new mobile brand; we’re revolutionizing the telco industry with a game-changing experience attuned to the next generation of mobile users,” said Smart chief operating officer Anastacio Martirez.
Martirez noted that Gen Z, which comprises about 27 million to 29 million Filipinos aged 19 to 29, represents an economic gap in Smart’s brand portfolio that the company wants to address.
“In the socio-economic pyramid, we have already addressed it [the other segment], so the gap is the 19-to-29-year-olds,” he said.
Smart hopes the new brand will lead to an average revenue per user (ARPU) higher than its current prepaid segment’s P120 to P130.
“We hope that this [Gen Z], from the research that we have, the insights that we have, that it can be in the north of it,” Martirez said.
“Filipino Gen Zs are redefining how they live, share, and stay connected. With KIQ, we’re giving them a mobile experience that puts them in full control—no wasted data, no unnecessary add-ons, just total freedom and flexibility. This is what the future of mobile looks like,” he said.
To use the service, customers download the KIQ app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store, purchase a KIQ eSIM for P99, and personalize their plan.
KIQ is Smart’s first service to use QR-less eSIM activation. Users click a button within the app to download and activate the eSIM instead of scanning a QR code. After a one-time registration, customers can begin using their custom plan immediately.
