SingTel’s second commercial satellite ST-2 soars into orbit

SingTel’s second commercial satellite ST-2 soars into orbit

Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) announced today that Singapore’s second satellite, ST-2 was successfully launched into orbit following an impressive lift-off from Kourou, French Guiana.

At 4.38am Singapore time, the Ariane 5 ECA rocket rose from its launch pad, safely entering transfer orbit 250 km above the earth. Separation from the rocket occurred 27 minutes after lift-off.

“This is an exciting milestone for SingTel and Singapore,” said Ms Chua Sock Koong, Group CEO, SingTel. “Satellite services play an important role in SingTel's overall vision for the Corporate Business market, enabling us to lead and shape key markets such as the Maritime, Oil & Gas, Media & Broadcast and Logistics industries. ST-2 will enhance our ability to offer businesses such as shipping companies and DTH operators a one-stop ICT experience that will empower them to stay ahead of the competition.”

PLDT Global brings international mobile business to Guam

PLDT Global brings international mobile business to Guam

PLDT Global Corporation (PGC), in cooperation with Docomo Pacific, is bringing its Mobile Virtual Network Operation (MVNO) business to Filipinos in Guam next month.

Through this partnership, Docomo Pacific, which operates a cellular service in Guam, will offer PGC’s Smart Pinoy services and lower rates for voice calls and text messages, to and from the Philippines.

These services include the Smart Pinoy Store which serves as a gateway for remittances and the payment of essential products and services such as utilities, tuition fees, insurance premiums, health check-ups, and medical procedures among others.

PLDT Multiline: One SIM, two cell phone numbers

PLDT Multiline: One SIM, two cell phone numbers

It has become much easier – and cheaper – for Filipinos in Hong Kong and Singapore to be reached by family and friends in the Philippines, thanks to an innovative new service of telecoms leader PLDT that puts two cell phone numbers inside a single SIM card.

Called “Multiline”, the new service attaches a “virtual” Philippine cell phone number supplied by Smart Communications to a Smart Pinoy SIM which also has a Hong Kong cell phone number.

Cell phone users in the Philippines pay only local voice and SMS rates when calling the virtual Philippine number of the Smart Pinoy SIM. This includes the various “bucket” and “unlimited” text offers of Smart and Talk N Text.

Non-Smart subscribers in the Philippines can also contact Smart Pinoy Multiline subscribers at local voice and text rates.

Celcom improves standards

Celcom Axiata Berhad, the country’s first and foremost mobile telecommunications provider, proudly announced its recent achievement in being certified with the ISO 9001:2008 Certification for Provision of the Credit Management Services by the Certification Panel SIRIM QAS International Sdn. Bhd. The certified billing credit management system (Billing CREMENSYS) is a customised process built on the current billing platform that manages Celcom’s postpaid end to end credit life cycle. This process is a total replacement of the previous legacy systems and is built around managing customers’ credit experience based on immediate notification and gratification of services, with minimal tolerance for failure.

“This certification represents an incredible achievement for Celcom. This is a testament that Celcom is a high quality and high performance driven company, placing great importance in elevating customers’ end-to-end experience when they are in Celcom Territory. With trend moving from voice-centric to data-centric plus the growth of smartphone users in the country, Celcom has already put in place a superior network infrastructure to support this trend shift and to meet customers’ demands and expectations. Now with our credit life cycle process certified and benchmarked against world-class standards, our customers can be assured of the best service experience paired with unbeatable network coverage and competitively-priced packages, giving them absolute peace of mind when dealing with Celcom,” said Chief Executive Officer of Celcom Axiata Berhad

Axiata Announces New Appointments to Strengthen Human Capital & Finance Management

Axiata Announces New Appointments to Strengthen Human Capital & Finance Management

Axiata Group Berhad (Axiata) today announced new key appointments to further strengthen its human capital and financial management. The focus on these two areas will ensure a more robust and sustainable organization as the Group moves closer towards its ambition to be a regional champion by continually raising the bar to achieve world-class performance.

Towards this, the Group Human Resources role will be split to achieve a better focus on talent. Datin Badrunnisa Mohd Yasin Khan, Group Head of Human Resources, will now be
Group Chief Talent Officer. Talent is a major focus for the Group and this new role reflects Axiata’s strong commitment towards building a talent pipeline for future leaders. She will be taking the Groups’ efforts a major step further to invest in its people, harnessing their full potential as well as ensuring a robust succession plan. Datin Badrunnisa has had over 25 years of working experience predominantly with Shell Malaysia focusing on Human Resources and IT.

MTS India awards rev B contract to ZTE

MTS India awards rev B contract to ZTE

ZTE today announced that it has won the world’s first CDMA EV-DO Rev.B Phase 2 commercial contract from Indian telecom operator, Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd (SSTL). SSTL operates its telecom services across India under the brand MTS and has over 11 million wireless customers. ZTE has also won the CDMA expansion contracts and EV-DO upgrade contracts for 10 circles of SSTL. The EV-DO Rev.B Phase2 commercial launch will commence in Rajasthan.

“We are excited to partner with ZTE Corporation for further up gradation of our telecom network including the CDMA EV-DO Rev.B Phase 2 roll-out. This would enable us to cater to the fast growing demand for high speed mobile broadband in the country. SSTL currently provides high speed mobile broadband services in over 150 towns across India”, said Mr. Vsevolod Rozanov, President & Chief Executive Officer, Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd.

“We are very proud that we have won the world’s first CDMA EV-DO Rev.B Phase 2 commercial contract from SSTL and it serves to showcase our global leadership. This contract will serve to further enhance SSTL’s service offerings and strengthen the strategic partnership between the two companies. We will continue to provide world-class products and services to the Indian market and focus on enhancing our leadership position”, said Mr. Cui Liangjun, CEO, ZTE India.

MTS India Expands Its High Speed Data Footprint Nationally

MTS India Expands Its High Speed Data Footprint Nationally

Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd (SSTL), which nationally operates its telecom services under the MTS brand with over 10 million wireless customers, today announced the launch of its high-speed mobile broadband service, MBlaze in UP East & UP West Circles. MTS India has rolled out its high speed mobile broadband services in Lucknow, Allahabad, Kanpur, Dehradun, Aligarh, Agra, Bareilly, Gorakhpur, Meerut, Moradabad and Varanasi.

According to Atul Joshi, Chief Sales Officer, MTS India, “MTS is committed to building a business model based on its unique and differentiated ‘Data centric, Voice enabled’ strategy. As part of this commitment, the company is rapidly expanding its data footprint in the country and currently offers High Speed Mobile broadband services under the MBlaze brand in over 150 towns across India. Specifically, looking at UP East & UP West, they are an important market for us and we have earmarked close Rs. 25 Crore to roll out our high speed data services across the circles.”

1O1O Launches Hong Kong’s First 4G LTE Mobile Device

1O1O (CSL) Launches Hong Kong’s First 4G LTE Mobile Device

Following the launch of the world’s first 4G LTE/DC-HSPA+ network in November 2010, 1O1O customers can now be the first to experience Hong Kong’s unprecedented mobile broadband service with the pioneering 4G LTE modem, the first 4G device in Hong Kong. With data speeds up to eight times faster than any other network and with higher bandwidth capacity, 1O1O is making it possible for customers to live the truly mobile life.

“Giving priority to our customers by inviting them to be the first to upgrade to 4G LTE, 1O1O is redefining the mobile broadband experience through one of the world’s leading networks. Our strategic investment in radio spectrum and network infrastructure allows us to continue leading mobile innovation and unleash the full potential of human networks,” said Joseph O’Konek, Chief Executive Officer, CSL Limited.

Launched in 1993, 1O1O is the highly regarded premium brand of CSL Limited, the leading mobile operator in Hong Kong. Known for its exclusive award-winning customer services, 1O1O also draws on CSL’s network superiority to provide Hong Kong’s professionals and discerning customers with a premium mobile lifestyle service. In 2010, CSL became the first operator in the world to launch a  4G  LTE network, and now exclusively offers world-class capacity and speed to 1O1O customers, complementing the premium value-added services that set the brand apart.