CURE was established in 2001 by two companies: PH Communications Holdings Corporation and Francom Holdings, companies both owned by businessman
Roberto Ongpin, with Eric O. Recto as the president of the new company. The
Congress granted the company a 25-year franchise to provide telecommunications services in the Philippines on April 24, 2001. However, significant operations did not commence until 2005, when CURE applied for one of the five 3G licenses being offered by the
National Telecommunications Commission. It was one of four companies (the other three being
Globe Telecom,
Sun Cellular and CURE's current parent company,
Smart Communications) to have been awarded a 3G license in 2006. The awarding of a 3G license to CURE by the NTC is considered controversial and was the subject of a request by
Juan Ponce Enrile for the
Senate to conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation regarding the NTC's judgment in issuing the licenses. Enrile's request cites the incapability of CURE to independently mount a 3G network, as well as violations of its franchise when Smart acquired the company in 2008. CURE's 3G network went live in December 2006, and the CURE network was opened for public trial through an invitation system. Persons who were selected to try out the CURE network were given a phone credit allowance in addition to a free
SIM card. At the time, CURE did not see itself as a competitor to the three established telecommunications companies, nor did it target its current demographic: the original demographic of the company was aimed more at corporate customers and individuals who wanted to avail of the new services and capabilities of UMTS. In part due to this original mission, CURE offered unlimited mobile phone browsing during its public trial. On March 25, 2008, the
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), the parent company of Smart, announced that the latter had acquired CURE's parent companies in a () deal as part of Smart's planned expansion of both its 3G network and services. While the management structure was left untouched, the acquisition enabled Smart to align CURE towards becoming a niche provider in the then-young Philippine 3G market. CURE rebranded itself as ümobile on May 19, 2008 during the network's public launch at the
Rockwell Center in
Makati. While ümobile is distinct from the previously independent CURE, it retained the old invitation system with a free SIM card and a six-month, P100 phone credit allowance. ümobile invitations were available from June 1 to August 31 and invitations were distributed both at their website and at ümobile-sponsored events in bars and nightclubs around
Metro Manila. However, the entire invitation system was shut down on September 1 as part of the integration of CURE's network assets with that of Smart's. This integration resulted in the retirement of the ümobile brand and the eventual transition to Red Mobile. Red Mobile folded its services in July 2012, when
PLDT turned its spectrum over to the NTC as one of the conditions the regulator set for the approval of the
PLDT group's acquisition of
Sun Cellular. Its spectrum, 3G frequency, and permits used by CURE were bidded out. ==Services==