Asia Pacific Market
Asia Pacific Market

Asia Pacific Market

Asia-Pacific Mobile Alliance – Conexus

Asia’s largest alliance of mobile operators, as announced April 2006, today welcomed Smart Communications, Inc., the Philippines’ leading mobile operator, into the fold. With SMART’s participation, the group has expanded its coverage footprint to over 130 million mobile subscribers in nine countries and regions. In conjunction with the introduction of its newest member, they have also announced the new official name – Conexus Mobile Alliance – and launched this new website, as its members begin to roll out value-added roaming and corporate mobile services amongst each other.

Kyocera Showcases at ITU 2006

Kyocera Corporation and its group companies are exhibiting at the ITU 2006, held from December 4 to 8 in Hong Kong, with the focus on a display of CDMA mobile handsets. The products in the booth have been selected to present Kyocera’s ‘design concept’ towards the mobile communication terminals. Two of the terminals offered by Kyocera this year feature slim, lightweight designs in response to user preferences, while being equipped with enriched functions and wide, easy-to-read displays. The A5521K model released this spring is squeezed into a form factor just 18 mm thick, while the brand-new W44K boasts a thickness of just 15 mm.

i-mode Dead Down Under?

i-mode Strategy is reporting that Telstra’s recent launch announcement of their new “Next G” service lacks any reference to the carrier’s past commitment to i-mode. The closing paragraph states: Personally, I’ll probably buy Next G, although I’d prefer a Nokia handset and they seem to be left out in the cold (not to mention NEC who are not on offer for Next G and given their dependence on the success of i-mode, which is finished, will probably close down their mobile division in Australia).

NEC to Sell Handsets in Sri Lanka

NEC is reported to have inked a deal with Sri Lanka’s Steuartel to sell mobile phones in the local market. NEC also plans to introduce 3G handsets with Steuartel and Dialog’s backing. According to the article they initially hope to sell 3,000 to 4,000 units per month where the monthly demand for new phones is around 100,000 – 150,000 units.

OhMyNews Gears Up in Japan

South Korean citizen-media website OhMyNews began recruiting on Friday for its new Japanese-language site, which is due to launch next month. The site started in South Korea in 2000 under the banner “every citizen is a reporter” and immediately began challenging the mainstream media with its news site written by readers. It currently utilizes around 40,000 citizen reporters, each of whom get paid about US$20 for a newsworthy submission. The JV with SoftBank for Japan was announced on 22 Feb.

DoCoMo's Deal in Guam Challenged

DoCoMo’s proposed purchase of GUAMCELL and HafaTel is being opposed as it “presents a risk to national security.” A petition has been filed by Teleguam Holdings, but on the other hand Guam Governor Benigno R. Fitial has thrown “his full support” behind the plan saying that consumers stand to benefit from lower costs and better services. If the purchase went through DoCoMo would capture between 55% and 65% of combined market share on Guam for mobile radio and wireless phone services, according to the petition, filed with the US Federal Communications Commission.

DoCoMo Making Moves in Hong Kong

Hutchison Telecommunications said it has formed a strategic partnership with NTT DoCoMo of Japan. An industry source familiar with the matter said the two companies are likely to launch mobile applications related to Hutchison Telecom’s 3G mobile platform in Hong Kong. A spokeswoman of Hutchison declined to give further details, but said the two companies will hold a press briefing on the partnership Thursday.

Web Update 1 June: It’s Official>>

Seven Asian Mobile Operators Form Alliance

DoCoMo has just announced that it will join the, tentatively called, “Asia-Pacific Mobile Alliance,” with six other Asian mobile carriers. The group also includes; Far EasTone – Taiwan, Hutchison Essar – India, Hutchison Telecoms – Hong Kong, KT Freetel – Korea, PT Indosat – Indonesia and StarHub Ltd. from Singapore. The alliance boasts a combined customer base of about 100 million mobile subscribers over eight countries and regions.

NEC Telecom China Plans

NEC Telecom, one of the only really active Japanese handset makers in China, regards China as its most important overseas market amid personnel changes and the retreat of other Japanese firms. So says Ken Lu, the new president of NEC Telecom China. “Global expansion is a focus for NEC Telecom in the world and China is a priority in that expansion,” said Lu yesterday.

NEC to Deliver HSDPA to 3 Hong Kong

NEC Corporation today announced that its High Speed Down link Packet Access (HSDPA) is to be deployed in the 3G network of 3 Hong Kong, a subsidiary of Hutchison Telecommunications (Hong Kong) Limited. This contract has been awarded to NEC and its 3G partner Siemens following a successful field trial on 3 Hong Kong’s UMTS network. During the field trial, NEC’s HSDPA-based UTRAN achieved a high level of performance and functionality, including high-speed internet access, consecutive data transmission and handover in a HSDPA service environment, while allowing flexible and variable changes in transmission speed.