Leading Asia Pacific Mobile Operators from Bridge Alliance Form Region's Largest M2M Alliance

MANILA, Philippines, Jan. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Eleven leading Asia Pacific mobile operators under Bridge Alliance formed the region's largest Machine-to-Machine (M2M) alliance today, offering a 'one-stop-shop' experience for M2M deployment across the Asia Pacific region and effectively becoming a center of excellence for M2M services and solutions to attract partnerships and provide customers with an end-to-end M2M regional capability.

M2M technology functions by connecting communication hardware to a physical asset: anything from a delivery truck, service vehicle, motorcycle, boat, production machine, an ATM terminal, freezer, elevator, data center, vault and so on. Information about its present status and performance can be transmitted to a computer system and used to automate a business process or a consumer action. Data is extracted straight from a machine with limited or no human intervention. These elements benefit industries through faster operations, more accurate data gathering and improved efficiency in terms of manpower, time and costs. This service was first introduced in the Philippine market by Globe Telecom under its Enterprise Business Group in August 2011.

Aside from Globe Telecom (Philippines), the Bridge M2M Alliance comprises of Airtel (India), AIS (Thailand), CSL (Hong Kong), Maxis (Malaysia), MobiFone (Vietnam), Optus (Australia), SingTel (Singapore), SK Telecom (South Korea), Taiwan Mobile (Taiwan) and Telkomsel (Indonesia). Together, the group serves a combined base of over 570 million subscribers, making it the largest M2M alliance in the Asia Pacific region.

Bridge M2M Alliance eliminates the complexity of dealing with multiple operators by offering seamless delivery of regional M2M services across geographical borders. The Alliance will also improve customers' service experience through enhanced interoperability, service levels and customer support.

Alessandro Adriani, CEO of Bridge Alliance, noted that: "Asia is made up of highly varied economies, uneven technological development and diversified regulatory requirements. As a result, multinational businesses find it extremely difficult to navigate the intricacies of the region and to fully capitalise on economies of scale. The evolution of Bridge Alliance in the M2M business is an indication of the commitment from the 11 operators to overcome these challenges for the success of customers' businesses."

Gil Genio, Globe Telecom Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Business and International Markets, pointed out that: "M2M is an important pillar of growth for us. Being part of this initiative gives us a strategic advantage in our local market, and our customers can look forward to comprehensive regional geographical coverage and superior service."

The M2M partnership covers commercial as well as technological cooperation across various industries such as vehicle telemetry, security and energy management, among others. This enables the development of new business models, creation of new products and services as well as reduction in customers' operational costs. The Alliance is determined to build an innovative ecosystem by partnering technology players in the M2M value chain such as application developers, module manufacturers and service providers.

Alliance members will continuously cooperate to secure significant commercial benefits and economies of scale for customers and to enable joint product development initiatives. Being key operators in the respective countries, they are well placed to leverage and support multinational companies hoping to ride on Asia's growth, as well as Asian companies looking to expand globally.

About Globe Telecom

Globe Telecom is a leading full service telecommunications company in the Philippines, serving the needs of consumers and businesses with an entire suite of products and services including mobile, fixed, broadband, data connections, internet and managed services.  Its principals are Ayala Corporation and SingTel who are acknowledged industry leaders in the country and in the region. For more information, visit www.globe.com.ph. Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/talk2Globe and Facebook: http://facebook.com/GlobePH.

About Bridge Alliance

Bridge Alliance a partnership of 31 leading mobile operators, namely, Airtel (India, Bangladesh), AIS (Thailand), CSL (Hong Kong), CTM (Macau), Globe Telecom (Philippines), Maxis (Malaysia), MobiFone (Vietnam), Optus Mobile (Australia), SingTel Mobile (Singapore), SK Telecom (South Korea), Taiwan Mobile (Taiwan), Telkomcel (Timor-Leste) and Telkomsel (Indonesia).

A combined customer base of over 570 million and an extensive footprint allow members to leverage the collective strengths of the alliance to develop and launch innovative roaming and enterprise solutions. Bridge Alliance operates through a Singapore-incorporated joint venture company, Bridge Mobile Pte Ltd. For more information, visit www.bridgealliance.com or contact [email protected]

About Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 Countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 4 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company's product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed DSL broadband, IPTV, DTH, enterprise services including national & international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 285 million customers across its operations at the end of December 2013. To know more please visit, www.airtel.com

About AIS

Advanced Info Service (Public) Company Limited or AIS, Thailand's No. 1 Wireless Communication Service Provider, has operated for 23 years with currently 39 million registered numbers. AIS start operating 3G 2100 technology on 2013. AIS incorporates the concept "Your World Your Way" in the Quality DNAs integral pillars including Device, Network, Application and Customer service excellence. For more information, visit www.ais.co.th

About CSL

CSL Limited, established in 1983, is Hong Kong's first mobile network operator and is also the first mobile company in Hong Kong to employ a distinctive market segmentation strategy to provide customer-focused services through its brands 1O1O, one2free, and New World Mobility.

It operates a world-class GSM / WCDMA/ UMTS 900 network in Hong Kong and launched the world's first dual band 4G LTE with DC-HSPA+ network in 2010, through which it offers comprehensive mobile and broadband services to both local and international customers. As a leading roaming operator in Hong Kong, CSL also provides customers with comprehensive international multi-media connectivity with over 590 mobile operator partners around the world. For more information, please visit www.hkcsl.com.

CSL is a subsidiary of Telstra Corporation Limited, Australia's leading telecommunications and information services company (www.telstra.com).

About Maxis

Maxis Berhad is Malaysia's only integrated communications service provider with RM8.9 billion revenue in 2012 and over 14 million subscribers. As one of Malaysia's most admired home-grown brands, Maxis has evolved from being a premier mobile operator to one that offers an extensive suite of services to enrich its customers' lives whether at home, at work or on-the-go: mobile and fixed voice, messaging, mobile internet, wireless and wired high speed broadband, and multi-screen content and applications - be it entertainment, education, security or cloud computing - through mobile, fixed and satellite networks. Maxis launched the first high-speed networks in Malaysia including 3G, 3.5G, 3.5G+ and was the first to launch 4G LTE (Long-Term Evolution) early this year. Maxis' high-speed network footprint is the largest in the country with 95% 2G and 82% high-speed 3G coverage.

As a key supporter of the Malaysian application development ecosystem, Maxis partners with local developers to bring innovative applications to its customers while also making available the widest range of localised content in the market, with a selection of free Apps that appeal to different segments across various smart devices. Maxis' efforts in innovation, excellent customer service and providing value to stakeholders have earned the Company numerous awards including the historic win of 20 awards at the 13th Customer Relationship Management and Contact Centre Association of Malaysia (CCAM) Annual Awards in 2012, Best Managed Company, Asia's Best Employer, Putra Brand of the Year Awards in 2011 and Top 5 Best Global Operator Award by World Communication Awards in 2012 and 2010. Committed to contributing to the communities it operates in, Maxis' Corporate Responsibility efforts focus on making a 'Positive Impact', harnessing leading-edge technology to create value for the economy, society and the environment. For more information, please visit: maxis.com.my or email [email protected]

About MobiFone

Established in April 1993, Vietnam Mobile Telecom Services Company (VMS) has been the first telecommunications service provider in Vietnam to offer GSM 900/1800 services under the brand name of MobiFone. MobiFone has 35 million subscribers and offers a wide range of service bundles. The company has network coverage in 98% of Vietnam's area and operates out of Hanoi, Vietnam.

About Optus

Optus, serving more than nine million customers daily, is the leader in integrated communications in Australia. Since commencing operations in 1992, Optus has built an advanced technology platform that allows it to deliver communication, information and entertainment services across the country.

About SingTel

SingTel is Asia's leading communications group providing a portfolio of services including voice and data solutions over fixed, wireless and Internet platforms as well as infocomm technology and pay TV. The Group has presence in Asia, Australia (through wholly-owned subsidiary SingTel Optus) and Africa with 486 million mobile customers in 25 countries, including Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. It also has a vast network of offices throughout Asia Pacific, Europe and the United States. More information can be found at www.singtel.com and www.optus.com.au. 

About SK Telecom

SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM, KSE: 017670), established in 1984, is Korea's largest telecommunications company with more than 27 million mobile subscribers, accounting for over 50% of the market. The company reached KRW 16.301 trillion in revenue in 2012. As the world's first company to commercialize CDMA, CDMA 2000 1x, CDMA EV-DO and HSDPA networks, SK Telecom launched the nation's first LTE service in July 2011. Backed by rapid nationwide deployment, a rich device lineup and diverse mobile value added services, the company secured over 11 million LTE subscribers as of June 2013. SK Telecom also became the world's first mobile carrier to launch LTE-Advanced on June 26, 2013 by applying core LTE-Advanced technologies including Carrier Aggregation. Also, based on its strength in network operations business, SK Telecom is seeking new growth engines by building ICT convergence business models in areas of healthcare, enterprise solutions, media and education. For more information, please visit www.sktelecom.com or email to [email protected]

About Taiwan Mobile

Taiwan Mobile Co., Ltd., incorporated in 1997, is a leading telecommunications company in Taiwan offering "Quadruple Play" services – covering mobile, fixed-line, cable TV and broadband. The Company has, for more than 15 years, won extensive recognition at home and abroad for its outstanding performance in information security management, customer service, corporate governance and corporate social responsibility. It has been recognized as one of the most admired and trusted enterprises in Taiwan. For more information, please visit www.taiwanmobile.com.

About Telkomsel (www.telkomsel.com)

Telkomsel is the world's 6th largest cellular operator by number of subscribers and the market leader in Indonesia's telecommunication industry that serves more than 128 million subscribers. With 67,000 Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) Telkomsel provides the largest network coverage in Indonesia, reaching almost all of Indonesia's population. As a pioneer in the development of Indonesia's mobile telecommunication industry and to enter the advanced stage of mobile broadband services, Telkomsel provides cellular services through GSM Dual Band (900 & 1800), GPRS, Wi-Fi, EDGE, 3G, HSDPA, and HSPA+ networks throughout Indonesia, and is testing Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology. To serve customers' needs, Telkomsel is supported by a 24-hour call center and 410 service centers throughout Indonesia.

Contact:

Ma. Yolanda Crisanto
SVP, Corporate Communications
Globe Telecom, Inc.
Handset: +63917-8183695
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Globe Telecom, Inc.