
Smart launches full app-based service KiQ
In a news release, Smart said KiQ offers a personalized digital telco experience for the Zoomers.
The telco said its KiQ brand enables users to personalize offers and unbundle services, giving them full control and flexibility over their mobile lifestyle.
It added that KiQ subscribers can choose their data allocation, choose whether to have calls and texts, and choose the length of their plan validity.
Subscribers can also choose their number.
'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,' said Anastacio Martirez, Smart chief operating officer.
To subscribe to KiQ, users must download the KiQ app on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, purchase a KiQ eSIM P99, personalize their plan, and choose their mobile number.
Smart said KiQ is its first QR-less eSIM activation, eliminating the need to scan an eSIM QR code via email. —VBL, GMA Integrated News

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


GMA Network
9 hours ago
- GMA Network
PLDT lowers capex guidance for 2025
Pangilinan-led telecommunications giant PLDT Inc. has lowered its capital expenditure (capex) ceiling for 2025. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday, PLDT said its full-year capex guidance stood at P63 billion, from the original target of P68 billion to P73 billion for the entire year. The telco said the lowered capex ceiling for 2025 was 'due to more favorable pricing and successfully negotiated terms with vendors.' As of the first half of 2025, PLDT said its capex amounted to P27.4 billion, down from P35.1 billion in the same period last year. The telco saw its bottom line decline slightly in the first half of 2025 due to cost pressures during the period, with reported income amounting to P18.1 billion, down 1% year-on-year. 'Our results for the first half of 2025 show the resilience of our business and the strength of our people. We continue to invest in the future—expanding our network, enhancing customer experience, and driving innovation across our businesses. In a challenging environment, we remain committed to delivering value to our customers, shareholders, and the country,' said Manuel V. Pangilinan, PLDT and Smart chairman and CEO. —VBL, GMA Integrated News


GMA Network
3 days ago
- GMA Network
Smart launches full app-based service KiQ
PLDT Inc.'s mobile arm, Smart Communications Inc., is introducing a full app-based mobile network service named KiQ, which aims to capture the Gen Z market. In a news release, Smart said KiQ offers a personalized digital telco experience for the Zoomers. The telco said its KiQ brand enables users to personalize offers and unbundle services, giving them full control and flexibility over their mobile lifestyle. It added that KiQ subscribers can choose their data allocation, choose whether to have calls and texts, and choose the length of their plan validity. Subscribers can also choose their number. '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,' said Anastacio Martirez, Smart chief operating officer. To subscribe to KiQ, users must download the KiQ app on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, purchase a KiQ eSIM P99, personalize their plan, and choose their mobile number. Smart said KiQ is its first QR-less eSIM activation, eliminating the need to scan an eSIM QR code via email. —VBL, GMA Integrated News


GMA Network
04-07-2025
- GMA Network
Japan's heat-stressed matcha tea output struggles to meet soaring global demand
A sign board reading 'Matcha is out of stock' is displayed in front of a tea store in Uji, Kyoto prefecture, Japan, June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Michele Pek UJI, Japan - Matcha lovers, brace your wallets! Record temperatures in Japan have curbed matcha green tea production this year, straining supplies and driving prices to all-time highs amid booming global demand for the trendy beverage, farmers and industry officials said. The Kyoto region, which accounts for about a quarter of Japan's production of tencha - the stemmed leaves dried and ground into matcha - was hit by severe heatwaves last summer during Japan's hottest year on record, which led to weak yields in the recent April-May harvest. Masahiro Yoshida, a sixth-generation farmer, was only able to harvest 1.5 tons of tencha this year, down a quarter from his typical harvest of two tons. "Last year's summer was so hot that it damaged the bushes, so we couldn't pluck as many tea leaves," he told Reuters from his storefront in Uji, south of Kyoto. Global demand for matcha has surged in recent years, driven by millennials and Gen Z buyers seeking healthier choices, with hip cafes globally offering matcha lattes, smoothies, and desserts. The finely ground tea is prized as an antioxidant and for higher caffeine content than other green teas. Viral social media traction last autumn turbocharged demand, prompting some wholesalers such as Singapore-based Tealife to occasionally impose purchase limits. Yuki Ishii, Tealife's founder, said matcha demand from its customers grew ten-fold last year and is still rising, even as the amount available from Japan is declining. "I'm basically always out of stock," he said. Japan produced 5,336 tons of tencha in 2024, according to the Japanese Tea Production Association, a nearly 2.7-fold increase from ten years earlier, as more farmers switched to the crop. However, the association said it expects lower matcha output this year. "I think many were hoping for a higher yield harvest this year to reduce some of the shortages ... but it doesn't seem like this is going to be the case," said Marc Falzon, who buys tea from Uji farmers for his New Jersey-based milling firm, Ooika Co. Japan's green tea exports, including matcha, rose 25% by value to 36.4 billion yen ($252 million) in 2024, driven largely by growing demand for powdered teas such as matcha, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. By volume, Japan's green tea exports rose 16%. Tencha prices have climbed to record highs, with a May auction in Kyoto fetching 8,235 yen per kilogram, a 170% increase from a year earlier and well above the previous record of 4,862 yen set in 2016, according to the Global Japanese Tea Association. Japanese producers are trying to increase matcha output, but that won't solve the current shortage as the new fields they are planting need five years before they can be harvested, said Falzon. "I suspect we'll see even more dramatic price increases." ($1 = 144.2000 yen) — Reuters