SmarTel was established in the early 1990s and became a pioneer in the market for prepaid phone cards, focusing on prepaid phone cards as a promotion and fast becoming the leading company in the proportional sector of the industry. The company's promotions including among the industry's largest, with clients ranging from Philip Morris to Proctor and Gamble. One of the company's most famous and most valuable promotions were 5,000 prepaid phone cards distributed to patrons at Madison Square Garden for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals in 1994. In 1997, the company was sold to SmarTalk Teleservices, Inc.