11 leading Asia Pacific mobile operators from Bridge Alliance form region’s largest M2M alliance

27 January 2014 – 11 leading Asia Pacific mobile operators today form the region’s largest Machine-to-Machine (M2M) alliance to offer a ‘one-stop-shop’ experience for M2M deployment across the Asia Pacific region. Bridge M2M Alliance is a centre of excellence for M2M services and solutions to attract partnerships and provide customers with an end-to-end M2M regional capability.

Bridge M2M Alliance comprises members of Bridge Alliance and is made up of Airtel (India), AIS (Thailand), CSL (Hong Kong), Globe Telecom (Philippines), 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 500 million subscribers, making it the largest M2M alliance in the Asia Pacific region.

With its Bridge M2M Alliance partnership, Maxis’ Managed M2M service is able to better support the M2M requirements of major multi-national companies beyond Malaysia in a seamless manner. Maxis is already addressing customer needs for cross-border services such as M2M roaming required for sectors such as transportation and logistics, which complement its existing M2M offerings.

T Kugan, Maxis’ Head of Digital Services, said: “M2M is an important pillar of our digital strategy serving a wide range of Enterprise customers. Being the only telco in Malaysia to be 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.

“Moving forward, we plan to enrich our service offerings by exploring other parts of the M2M value chain so that we can provide end-to-end tailored M2M solutions for selected customer segments with superior customer support.”

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: “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.”

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

Alliance members will continuously cooperate to secure significant commercial benefits and economies of scale for customers and 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.

SingTel and Fortinet Partner to Provide Secured Broadband Services to Businesses

FortiGate network security platforms enable Singapore's largest Telco to reliably protect businesses against unsafe or unproductive websites, viruses and spams

MALAYSIA, November 26 , 2013 – Fortinet − a world leader in high performance network security – today announced that it has partnered with SingTel, a leading ICT service provider in Asia Pacific, to immediately roll out secured broadband services to enterprises across Singapore.

Running on Fortinet's high performance FortiGate® network security platforms and FortiManager® and FortiAnalyzer® centralized management and reporting appliances, the SingTel Business Fibre Broadband Security Suite intercepts security threats and eliminates them in the cloud before they reach a company's IT network. Businesses subscribed to this Suite will have online content filtering bundled with their broadband access. Antivirus and anti-spam protection can be added as options. Besides improving security, the content filtering and anti-spam functions help businesses optimize bandwidth usage and increase staff productivity.

Fortinet's FortiGate network security platforms − which host the full range of security functions including Web filtering, antivirus, anti-spam, anti-spyware, IPS, VPN and application firewall − can be easily turned on to protect firms against network, content and application-level threats.

Under the Fortinet-SingTel partnership, SingTel will offer its new eVolve/eLite business customers the Business Fibre Broadband Security Suite, while upgrading existing eVolve/eLite customers to this Suite when their contracts are renewed.

 “The SingTel Business Fibre Broadband Security Suite is tailor-made for SMEs, which have little or no IT support. Having a reliable, convenient and automated cloud security enables them to protect their vulnerable IT networks from internal and external threats. Our SME customers can enjoy a secured Internet network allowing them to focus on their business, enhance customer experience and drive new revenue growth," said Mr Goh Boon Huat, Vice President, Business Products, Global Products at SingTel Group Enterprise.

Fortinet is an industry leader with proven deployments in thousands of service provider environments worldwide. Fortinet's products empower managed security service providers (MSSPs) with best-of-breed and adaptive security that fits any environment − SME, enterprise, data centre or service provider networks. Its flagship FortiGate network security platforms make up the backbone of MSSPs' security portfolios − providing multiple advanced security controls in a single high performance appliance. MSSPs around the world leverage them, along with the vendor's growing suite of emerging security products, to increase recurring revenue streams and grow their subscriber base while controlling costs and improving service efficiencies.

Dato’ Seri George Chang, Fortinet's Vice President for Southeast Asia & Hong Kong, said: "SingTel is a leading ICT service provider in the region and their championing of these services shows that the regional market for managed security services has finally matured. Fortinet is excited by the opportunities ahead and will continue to innovate and develop cutting-edge security solutions to help MSSPs and enterprises transform their businesses and gain competitive advantage."

HungryGoWhere is first food portal in APAC to provide personalised recommendations

Personal search platform analyses each user’s unique tastes and preferences 
to generate highly intuitive food recommendations

Malaysia, 7 November, 2013 – HungryGoWhere Malaysia today announced that it is the first food portal in APAC to provide personalised food recommendations according to each user’s unique tastes and preferences.

A first-of-its-kind personalised food recommendation system in APAC, the ground-breaking service from HungryGoWhere Malaysia works its magic with a hassle-free artificial intelligence system that is powered by Nara Logics, Inc. Nara’s personalisation algorithm works by combining what is right for you with where you are, computing recommendations all around you as you move through space.  After the user makes a few selections such as favourite cuisine type, preferred type of eatery and desired price range, Nara starts to build a ‘Digital DNA™’ profile for each user.

Drawing from a source database of over 35,000 eateries throughout Malaysia, even the pickiest of eaters are offered suggestions to suit their exacting taste buds. “Hungry Go Where?” will soon become “Hungry? I know exactly where to go!” The more one uses the system, the more accurate it gets. As users like and dislike a restaurant, the system is able to modify, filter and refine suggestions to match each user’s evolving ‘Digital DNA™’ profile.

“Knowing that Malaysians are passionate about good food, we are very excited to be the first to bring this great new technology to APAC, helping users discover the best makan places that might usually be out of their comfort zone,” said Mr Loo Cheng Chuan, Head (Local L!fe), of SingTel’s Digital L!fe division, SingTel.

“The integration of personalisation into HungryGoWhere Malaysia is significant in acquiring, engaging, and retaining users who want to find eateries that are most relevant to them, based on their preferences. We see web and search personalisation as the future, and we will continue to look for ways to enhance the user experience of the portal and app and make it more relevant and personal to each unique user,” he added.

HungryGoWhere Malaysia also offers a mobile app (available on iOS and Android platforms) that helps users find personalised eatery recommendations nearby by using advanced geo-location technology. There are plans to launch the service in Singapore and Australia next, enabling foodies to receive customised recommendations based on their preferences even when travelling out of the country.

Making food discovery fun 

To make food discovery even more fun, HungryGoWhere allows users to ‘level up’ as they use the site and mobile app, gaining points and earning badges that will appear alongside their user name. For example, those who share content regularly with their friends on Facebook become ‘BuzzyBees’, and ‘Superstars’ are those who amass a certain number of followers. Regular reviewers become ‘Food Critics’, and ‘Shutterbugs’ are those who are obsessed with taking and posting shots of their meals. There will also be badges for foodies who ‘specialise’ in certain types of cuisine, so a user can then become a ‘thai cuisine expert’, for example.

For more information, please visit www.hungrygowhere.my or download the free mobile app from the Apple App Store and Google Play store.

HungryGoWhere 将成为亚洲太平洋
首个提供个性化建议的美食门户网站

该搜寻平台通过分析每一位用户的独特口味和喜好而提出高度直觉性的美食建议

马来西亚 11 月 7 日讯 – HungryGoWhere 马来西亚今天宣布它乃是亚洲太平洋首个根据每一位用户之独特口味和喜好而提供个性化建议的美食门户网站。

该亚洲太平洋前所未有的个性化美食推荐系统乃是 HungryGoWhere 马来西亚之一项突破服务，它采用 Nara Logics, Inc 所供应的毫无麻烦人工智能系统以呈献这项神奇功能。Nara 的个性化演算法能结合适合您的的美食和您所处在的地点，然后随着您跨越时空而运算周围的建议。在用户作出一些选择如最爱吃的美食种类，首选的食店类型和向往的价格范围之后，Nara 将开始为每一个用户建立一个 '数码 DNA™' 概况。

通过收集马来西亚各地超过 35,000 家食店的资料数据库，即使是最挑剔的食家都能找到所喜爱的口味。"到哪里用餐?" 的疑问很快就有了答案，即 "我就知道上哪一家馆子!"。更多人使用该系统意味着其答案会更准确。随着用户对某家食店按赞或按贬，该系统将可修改，过滤和筛选建议，以匹配每一位用户的变化中 '数码 DNA™' 概况。

"我们非常清楚马来西亚人是民以食为天的民族，因此以率先在亚洲太平洋推介该伟大的新科技而感到振奋，以协助用户发掘一些或许是得来全不费工夫的最佳食店，" 新电信(SingTel)之 Digital L!fe 组的主管(Local L!fe) Loo Cheng Chuan 先生说道。

"将个性化功能纳入 HungryGoWhere 马来西亚对争取，接触和留住那些寻觅最适宜和迎合自己喜好之食店的用户很重的。我们认为网页和搜索的个性化乃是大势所趋，我们将继续想方设法提升用户浏览门户网站和使用应用程序的体验，务求它更适宜每一位独一无二的用户，" 他补充道。

HungryGoWhere 马来西亚也提供一个移动应用程序(可在 iOS 和 Android 平台找到) ，以协助用户通过先进的地理定位科技找到附近的个性化食店建议。其他计划包括于将来在新加坡和澳洲推出这项服务，以便出国旅游的食客可根据本身的喜好取得度身定制的建议。

呈献发掘美食的乐趣
为了使发掘美食更具乐趣，HungryGoWhere 让用户随着使用该网站和移动应用程序，累积分数和赢取列于他们的用户名之旁的徽章而提升等级。例如，那些经常在面子书与朋友分享内容者将成为 ‘BuzzyBees’，而吸引足够追随者的用户将成为  ‘Superstars’。经常写评语者将成为 ‘食评家’，最爱拍摄和张贴美食图片者则称为 ‘Shutterbugs’。其他专长于某种美食的食家也将赢得各种徽章，例如，某位用户可能因此而成为 ‘泰餐专家’。

欲知详情，请浏览 www.hungrygowhere.my 或从 Apple App Store 和 Google Play store 下载免费的移动应用程序。

ACASIA LAUNCHES GLOBAL DATA CENTRE

ACASIA Communications Sdn Bhd (ACASIA), an alliance of ASEAN telecommunications players recently launched its Global Data Centre in conjunction with CommunicAsia 2013; the annual International Communications and Information Technology Exhibition held in Singapore.

The inauguration of ACASIA’s Global Data Centre was made official in a signing ceremony between all seven (7) partners – CAT Telecom Public Company Limited (CAT) Thailand, PT Indosat Tbk (INDOSAT) Indonesia, Philippines Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel), Telekom Brunei Berhad (TELBRU), Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) and Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT).

Eric Alberto, Chairman of ACASIA, said, “ACASIA Global Data Centre is an amalgamation of data centres from the seven telcos which are partners of ACASIA. These data centres not only offer co-location services but also core network services and other value-added services such as Disaster Recovery, Managed Hosting Services and Cloud Computing, leveraging on ACASIA Partners’ industry leading extensive network and infrastructure ecosystem.”

ACASIA initially offers 33 data centres that not only cover ASEAN countries – Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, but also covers Hong Kong and Australia. With over 300,000 square feet of floor space and expanding, ACASIA’s Global Data Centre brings to its customers the largest single integrated data centre via ACASIA managed network through ACASIA’s one-stop-shop facility.

Customers will enjoy world-class services backed by the seven ASEAN telecommunications players which have its networks span across all continents. This is provided with Partners Diverse Internet Protocol-based (IP-based) International Network and Point of Presence (POPs) connectivity coupled with diverse submarine cable infrastructure.

Designed with utmost safety and security, this data centre boasts the capabilities to withstand up to seismic seven and eight intensities, flood-proof and bullet-proof facilities.

“By outsourcing your business needs to ACASIA Global Data Centre, customers will enjoy peace of mind through operations experts who are monitoring and managing your business infrastructure around the clock. ACASIA hopes to deliver flexible offerings at competitive pricing to help deliver end-to-end technology solutions for customers to build globally competitive businesses,” adds Alberto.

SingTel first to provide roaming customers with Auto Network Selection

• Network selection feature automatically connects roamers’ mobile devices to preferred partner networks
• Protects customers from accidental connection to providers outside partner networks
• Feature supports LTE roaming as well as 2G and 3G roaming

SingTel is the first mobile operator worldwide to provide customers with a network selection feature that automatically connects customers’ mobile devices to preferred partner networks when roaming. The service comes with SingTel’s DataRoam Saver plans and is based on Ericsson’s (NASDAQ: ERIC) Service-Aware Charging and Control solution. It ensures that data is only consumed when devices are connected to SingTel’s partner networks.

Johan Buse, Vice President of Consumer Marketing at SingTel, says: "The auto-network selection feature provides our customers with a worry-free roaming experience by eliminating bill shock. With our DataRoam Saver and EasyDataRoam service, travellers have total control of their roaming expenses and can enjoy tremendous cost savings in 44 countries worldwide. Activation of these services is also quick and simple with the use of our MySingTel app."

Nicholas Seow, President for Singapore and Brunei at Ericsson, says “We are delighted to partner with SingTel, the first operator globally to offer auto network selection for their customers. Ericsson’s Service-Aware Charging and Control solution provides the foundation for the delivery of high-quality, easy-to-use services, and makes it easy and convenient for subscribers to activate new services and control their spending. The feature also enables operators to ensure they are delivered with the expected quality-of-service which leads to greater user satisfaction.

The feature supports LTE roaming as well as 2G and 3G roaming.

ERICSSON A PARTNER FOR SINGTEL'S 4GLTE AND NETWORK TRANSFORMATION

• Ericsson supports SingTel to launch Singapore's first commercial 4G/LTE

• SingTel's 3G networks have been upgraded to offer 42Mbps peak speeds using dual carrier technology (DC-HSPA) to support superior mobile broadband experience.

• Ericsson's end-to-end IP solution includes multi-standard radio-access network with RBS 6000, Evolved Packet Core and Evolved Packet Gateway on SSR 8000 Smart Services Routers in a full turnkey project

SingTel was the first operator to launch commercial 4G/LTE services in Singapore. Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) is a partner for this advanced network deployment.

Ericsson's long term relationship with SingTel began with the delivery of the operator's existing 2G networks. Ericsson played an important role in transforming SingTel's current 2G/3G network into a multi-standard network with 4G/LTE capability through a full turnkey project that includes installation, commissioning and radio optimization services.

The SingTel 4G/LTE networks is deployed on both the 1.8GHz and 2.6GHz frequency bands with 80 percent coverage by the end of this year and full island wide coverage by early 2013.  SingTel will also deploy heterogeneous network solutions, including small cells designed to cater to high-traffic areas.

To provide a better mobile data experience across networks, the 3G network has been upgraded to peak rates of 42Mbps, using Dual Carrier technology (DC-HSPA). This gives SingTel the edge to support its range of new 4G/LTE phones now in the market.

Yuen Kuan Moon, CEO Consumer Singapore at SingTel, says: "With the introduction of LTE-capable smartphones and tablets, meeting consumer demands for faster services and better performance is critical. We have been working hard on the rollout of our network with Ericsson."

In Singapore, mobile penetration currently exceeds 150 percent and, according to a recent Ericsson ConsumerLab study, Singaporeans are ranked No. 1 for smartphone ownership (74 percent penetration) and No. 2 for tablet ownership (31 percent penetration) globally. All of this is fuelling mobile data traffic growth in the city-state, prompting SingTel's decision to launch a 4G/LTE network.

Nicholas Seow, President and Country Manager for Singapore and Brunei at Ericsson, says: "Partnering with a leading carrier such as SingTel is of key importance to Ericsson as SingTel is one of the most advanced carriers in the region. I'm delighted with SingTel's continued trust in us as key supplier, and I believe this collaboration shows how Ericsson can help operators to successfully execute large and demanding projects. This reaffirms our leadership in the 4G/LTE market and extends our long-standing relationship with SingTel, which dates back to 2003."

Ericsson's total transformation solution includes the multi-standard RBS 6000 and Evolved Packet Core (EPC) with Evolved Packet Gateway (EPG) based on SSR 8000 Smart Services Router and SGSN-MME, together with self-organizing networks (SON) features to speed up deployment, and network management with Ericsson's Operation Support System for Radio & Core (OSS RC). The network is already positioned for the next generation of mobile broadband, as it is easily upgradeable via software to support LTE-Advanced.

Ericsson has now signed 88 LTE/EPC contracts in 38 countries on five continents. With this contract, Ericsson maintains its leading position in LTE and mobile broadband, currently providing coverage for 305 million of the 455 million global LTE population.

Nokia closes off the year with a new beginning – the first Nokia smartphones based on Windows Phone make their debut in Singapore

Nokia Lumia 800 available in Singapore from 10 December; stylish device features best social and internet experiences with signature Nokia services

December 7, 2011 Singapore – Nokia reached a significant milestone today with the arrival of the highly anticipated Nokia Lumia range of smartphones in Singapore. The stunningly social Nokia Lumia 800 will be available from 10 December 2011, and the Nokia Lumia 710 will be in stores in the coming weeks.

With head-turning design, the Nokia Lumia 800 offers consumers the best integrated social experience and fast Internet browsing, bringing content to life for the consumer. Combining familiar Nokia elements such as leading imaging capabilities, navigation and music, the Nokia Lumia 800 delivers the best Windows Phone experience on the market. The Nokia Lumia 710 extends the Lumia experience to more people around the world with its affordability while offering personalisation with its colourful changeable covers.“Let’s talk about the significance of the Nokia Lumia devices to us – from a strategy perspective, we are delivering our first Nokia Windows Phones within eight months since we announced the collaboration with Microsoft earlier this year. And we have introduced Nokia’s signature services which make these phones much more desirable and relevant to consumers. This is a significant step forward as we continue to drive innovation throughout our entire portfolio, and the new range of Nokia Lumia smartphones is a testimony to our capabilities in balancing technology innovation with optimal user experience,” said Niklas Savander, Executive Vice President, Markets, Nokia.

“There is strong engagement with our partners and operators around the Nokia Lumia smartphones, and we are overwhelmed by their enthusiasm and support. Together with Microsoft, Nokia has created a new ecosystem that opens up opportunities for developers, as seen in these first two Nokia Lumia smartphones.”
“The Nokia Lumia 800 and Nokia Lumia 710 embody core Nokia attributes in terms of craftsmanship, trusted quality, vibrant colour and a no compromise attitude toward performance and experience. The phones also offer the best in social networking through the People Hub, offering one touch access to social networks,” said Neil Gordon, Vice President of Sales, Nokia South East Asia Pacific. “Singapore is a strategic market for Nokia, with a population of socially connected, tech-savvy and design-conscious smartphone users making it an easy choice launch market for the Nokia Lumia smartphones in Southeast Asia.”

“Canalys believes that the introduction of the first Lumia devices, based on Windows Phone 7.5, confirms Nokia’s commitment and seriousness to the platform, innovation, and the company’s new strategy. It is hugely reassuring that it is bringing two devices to market, which will be available across many highly important countries in time for the holiday season at the end of the year,” said Rachel Lashford, Managing Director, Mobile & APAC, Canalys.

Making Everyday Amazing with Nokia Lumia smartphones
The first two Nokia Lumia smartphones based on Windows Phone introduce a range of new experiences designed to make everyday moments more amazing.

Nokia Lumia 800

The stunningly social Nokia Lumia 800 features head-turning design, vivid colors (cyan, magenta and black) and the best social and Internet performance, with one-touch social network access, easy grouping of contacts, integrated communication threads and Internet Explorer 9.

It features a 3.7 inch AMOLED ClearBlack curved display blending seamlessly into the reduced body design, and a 1.4 GHz processor with hardware acceleration and a graphics processor. The Nokia Lumia 800 contains an instant-share camera experience based on leading Carl Zeiss optics, HD video playback, 16GB of internal user memory and 25GB of free SkyDrive storage for storing images and music.

The Nokia Lumia 800 is available at a RRP of SGD775, excluding taxes and subsidies.


Nokia Lumia 710

The purposely built, no-nonsense Nokia Lumia 710 can be personalized with exchangeable back covers and thousands of apps to bring the Lumia experience to more people around the world. The Nokia Lumia 710 is designed for instant social & image sharing, and the best browsing experience with IE9.

It is available in black and white with black, white, cyan, fuchsia and yellow back covers. With the same 1.4 GHz processor, hardware acceleration and graphics processor as the Nokia Lumia 800, the Nokia Lumia 710 delivers high performance at an affordable price.

The Nokia Lumia 710 will be available at a RRP of SGD505 excluding taxes and subsidies.


Signature services and stylish accessories

Both Nokia Lumia smartphones include signature Nokia experiences optimized for Windows Phone, including Nokia Drive, which delivers a full-fledged personal navigation device (PND) with free, turn-by-turn navigation and dedicated in-car-user-interface. Nokia Drive has the ability to preload maps in over 100 countries worldwide, including all the initial launch countries, like Singapore. Nokia Drive will only be available to Nokia Lumia users and so represents significant differentiation over non-Nokia Windows Phone products as a preloaded application.

Nokia Music is the evolution of a service, developed first for the Nokia N9, and now optimized for Windows Phone. It contains a beautiful user interface and users in Singapore will be able to download music clips and albums from the extensive music catalogue. In addition, users can listen to 30sec clips of the tracks before deciding to make a purchase.

Completing the ultimate mobile audio offering, Nokia also introduced the on-ear Nokia Purity HD Stereo Headset by Monster and the in-ear Nokia Purity Stereo Headset by Monster, co-designed and co-developed by Monster Cable, a recognized leader in high performance audio. Both products provide a fresh listening experience and are the first output of the exclusive long-term partnership between Nokia and Monster Cable, intended to introduce a range of premium audio accessories to reflect the outstanding quality and bold style of the Lumia range.

All three operators in Singapore – SingTel, StarHub and M1 – will be offering the Nokia Lumia 800 and Nokia Lumia 710 with attractive data plans.

Ericsson Response partners with SingTel Group for disaster communications

Ericsson and Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) today announced a partnership to provide emergency communications services to support disaster relief efforts
in South and Southeast Asia through Ericsson Response. This is a world’s first operator partnership for Ericsson Response.

Ericsson Response, a volunteer initiative that supports natural disaster relief and humanitarian operations, works at establishing essential mobile communications to support
humanitarian agencies and other partners to carry out their work. Ericsson Response works in collaboration with several aid agencies, such as the United Nations (UN), to meet their
communication needs.

Under this partnership, SingTel will provide satellite services from countries where its regional mobile associates operate. In addition, the SingTel Group’s associates, Advanced
Info Service (Thailand), Bharti Airtel (India), Globe Telecom (Philippines), Telkomsel (Indonesia) and Warid (Pakistan) will provide local resources to assist Ericsson Response’s
relief efforts. This will allow for faster deployment of emergency communications services in the event of disaster.

This partnership supports the SingTel Group’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) regional disaster relief efforts, which include financial assistance, community rebuilding
support and communication support for relief workers, in countries the Group operates in. For communication support, Ericsson Response was chosen as the best partner for
implementation.

Mr. Hui Weng Cheong, SingTel CEO International said: “In collaboration with our regional mobile associates and Ericsson, we hope this partnership will help mitigate the effects of

disasters in the region and make a difference to the communities in which the SingTel Group operates.”

“We have chosen to partner Ericsson Response because of their expertise in disaster relief, and its existing relationships with the UN, the IFRC, and NGOs in the region. This
partnership is a demonstration of the SingTel Group’s commitment to provide readily available resources towards disaster relief,” Mr Hui added.

Ms. Rima Qureshi, Senior Vice President of Ericsson Group and Head of Ericsson Response, shared that “The SingTel Group is one of Ericsson’s most important global
customers and we are honored to be their partner for their corporate social responsibility undertaking in South and Southeast Asia. We welcome this opportunity, together with
the SingTel Group, to support humanitarian operations and the citizens of the region with standby disaster communication services, should the need arise.”

“Since Ericsson Response was founded in April 2000, hundreds of Ericsson employees worldwide have volunteered, trained and deployed in 40 disaster relief operations in 30
countries. We are ready to use our experience and skill in disaster relief situations wherever and whenever needed.”

In Asia, Ericsson Response has already supported projects in Vietnam, Indonesia and Pakistan. The team was called on following the Asian Tsunami of 2004.

Other countries where the initiative has been deployed include Haiti, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran, Panama, Sudan, the US, Turkey, Kosovo and
Lebanon.

Bridge Alliance extends coverage into China with the launch of Bridge Data Roam

1 June 2009 – Bridge Alliance, the leading mobile alliance announces the launch ofBridge DataRoamPluswith extended coverage into China for its Bridge DataRoamsubscribers.

With the inclusion of China as a visited country, Bridge Alliance has increased thefootprint for Bridge DataRoam from 11 to 12 territories, providing customers more dataroaming connectivity and coverage as they travel across Asia Pacific.

With Bridge DataRoamPlus, customers who subscribe to Bridge DataRoam can now enjoythe extended coverage to China at no additional charges; this is also applicable toexisting Bridge DataRoam customers.

Bridge DataRoam is a one-flat rate data roaming offer across 12 territories in AsiaPacific, giving customers significant savings of up to 90% in their data roaming charges.

Customers can subscribe to any of the currently available Bridge DataRoam plans tosuit their usage needs. These plans are priced at RM50, RM99 and RM180 and areavailable as monthly plans.

With more than 130 million1 travellers visiting China each year and continuing growth ofmobile data usage, Ms Annie Gan, Chief Operating Officer of Bridge Alliance explainsthe value of this extension, “We constantly strive to deliver more value to customers ofthe alliance’s member operators; the extension into China is a key step move to meetthe increasing needs of business travellers seeking more value and savings when theyroam, especially during these difficult economic conditions. With the suite of cost savingdata roaming plans and now the extended footprint across 12 territories, customers cantruly have peace of mind when they roam with Bridge Alliance.”

Eight of the Bridge Alliance member operators will offer Bridge DataRoamPlus and it isavailable with immediate effect from Airtel (India) and SingTel Mobile (Singapore).Customers can check the availability of Bridge DataRoamPlus with the other memberoperators from June 2009 - they are AIS (Thailand), Globe Telecom (Philippines), Maxis(Malaysia), SingTel Optus (Australia), SK Telecom (Korea) and Telkomsel (Indonesia).

For more information, please visit www.bridgealliance.com

1 Based on statistics from China National Tourism Administration, the total number of international visitorsin 2007.

Tyco Telecommunications and NEC Begin Construction of Unity Cable System

Tokyo, June 24, 2008 – Tyco Telecommunications (US) Inc. and NEC Corporation today announced the commencement of construction on the Unity Cable System, a high-bandwidth, trans-Pacific, optical submarine cable system that will link Los Angeles, U.S. to Chikura, Japan. The contract for the project was signed on February 23, 2008, between the Unity Consortium, comprising of six purchasers, Bharti Airtel, Global Transit, Google, KDDI, Pacnet and SingTel and suppliers Tyco Telecommunications and NEC Corporation.

“Tyco Telecommunications is proud to be a system supplier for the Unity Cable System, a state-of-the-art long haul system that will provide additional connectivity and capacity between regions of the world that increasingly require more bandwidth,” said Bill Marra, General Manager of Tyco Telecommunications.

The Unity Cable System is a multi-fiber pair system, with each fiber pair capable of carrying up to 960 Gigabits of data per second. Tyco Telecommunications and NEC will each manufacture a portion of the undersea system. Tyco Telecommunications will install the undersea cable from the U.S. end and NEC will install the undersea cable from the Japan end. The cables will be interfaced on the seabed of the Pacific Ocean.

"NEC is extremely excited to take part in this significant cable build, which will provide high speed connectivity between the U.S. and Japan. We truly believe this cable will become the backbone of the Pacific information highway," commented Osamu Harada, General Manager of NEC's Submarine Network Division.

The Unity Cable System will meet the demand for connectivity between the U.S. and Japan that has been increasing since the activation of the last trans-Pacific system in 2002. Additionally, the Unity Cable System will connect to various intra-Asian cable systems, to facilitate seamless connectivity to other major cities in Asia.