I got a new mobile number and it begins with +63999-…..

Yes, seriously 0999-. It’s from a new telco called U Mobile or ümobile. It is exclusively for 15 to 35 year old individuals who are residing in the Philippines. And one must be able to get a subscription, or the sim, through an invite.

It is said that ümobile was bought by Smart from a telco named Cure. And it is the first ad-capitalized mobile service in the Philippines, and in Asia. Subscribers get a free load because advertising funds everything. Subscription to the service includes mobile ad campaigns that subscribers will receive and benefit from, according to ümobile. To simplify it, subscribers get free loads along with advertisements coming in their mobile phones. Simultaneously, I hope not.

Free load’s cool, but the ads. Imagine being bombarded with advertisements every now and then. It’s no different to the spam we have in our email inbox. Spam mails are all but annoying and just-consuming space of your email hosting. So it’s no-free load at all.

Some people are too tight to give out personal information. We can’t use aliases since the courier would be asking id’s from us, or whoever we authorized to receive our sim cards.

To whom would this sim work best? I only have two mobile phones. One, I am using for my eternal Smart sim, and the other for my Globe and my Sun. This may work for people who wouldn’t mind having to received ads, or what I called spam messages. But for those 15-to-35’s who wanted a peaceful mobile life, less of the bugging ads, this wouldn’t sell.

Basically advertisers pay for your text messages and calls. It’s a give and take relationship. However, I choose not to take, so I wouldn’t have to give in to what’s being given.

But what interest me are some of the sim’s features. They have a website wherein you can manage your sim. Like check balances, phone configurations, and others. Also, they have a “change your number” feature. But it’s not working yet. And what I like most , is we can purchase loads online, and can be paid using Paypal. But then again, I think it’s also not working yet, because the “Creating Request . . .” is taking forever. Well, they’ve just launched, and a few website glitches are acceptable and forgiven.

From 0910- to 0929-, using 0999- is really something new locally.

** If you’re looking and wanting to try the service, you can get an invite from here. Send me your name, email add, and number. [rj@charmedmom.com] I received an invite from my husband on a Monday, and i got the sim delivered at our home on Friday of the same week, easy and fast.