CONEXUS Mobile Alliance Welcomes Vietnam’s VinaPhone
17 Nov. 2009
Introduces Region-wide One-Rate SMS Roaming Service;
Partners NTT Communications to Deliver Global Messaging Service to Multinational
Corporations;
Announces Finalists to Android Application Development Programme
CONEXUS Mobile Alliance today welcomes VinaPhone to the Alliance, expanding one of Asia’s largest mobile alliances’ customer footprints to over 240 million mobile subscribers.
Dr Kaizad Heerjee, Chairman of CONEXUS Mobile Alliance, and Director and Chief Commercial Officer for PT Indosat, Tbk, said, “We would like to welcome VinaPhone to the Alliance, with the hope of a strong and long-lasting partnership. Vietnam is one of Asia’s fastest growing economies and VinaPhone is one of the leading mobile operators in the Vietnam market. As the earliest adopter of 3G services in Vietnam, VinaPhone will be able to help promote and expand the benefits of the Alliance to their customers. At the same time, we aim to offer VinaPhone’s customers true convenience and simplicity as they use the services that CONEXUS brings to the market.”
A subsidiary company of Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group, VinaPhone was officially established on June 26, 1996 as a nationwide mobile phone network using next generation and modern GSM technology, with an eye towards creating healthy competition in Vietnam's mobile communication market. By the end of 2000, VinaPhone had completed its coverage of nearly all residential areas, industrial zones, highways, tourism spots and border-gates throughout the country. Many popular new services such as prepaid mobile phone service and international roaming have been launched. VinaPhone was the first mobile operator in Vietnam to launch 3G services in the country.
“VinaPhone is proud to join the 10 established member operators of the CONEXUS Mobile Alliance to develop and enhance mobile data services across Asia while improving overall customer experience and satisfaction,” said Mr Lam Hoang Vinh, Vice President of VNPT and Managing Director of VinaPhone. “We look forward to working closely with Alliance members on delivering more convenient and peace-of-mind mobile data services for our business travellers from Vietnam to the rest of Asia.”
Alliance Introduces One-Rate SMS Roaming Service Across Asia
Customers of select CONEXUS member operators will soon be able to enjoy a SMS roaming one-rate of US$0.20 per SMS (or its equivalent in local currency) when they roam in all participating member operators’ networks. The transparency and predictability brought by the new SMS roaming one-rate will help business travellers effectively control their SMS roaming charges, ensuring them peace of mind when they do business in the region.
Post-paid mobile customers of India’s BSNL and MTNL, Korea’s KT Corporation, Philippines’ SMART Communications and Vietnam’s VinaPhone will enjoy this new one-rate SMS roaming service as they roam on all participating member operator’s networks. Post-paid and pre-paid customers of Indonesia’s PT Indosat, Tbk, Singapore’s StarHub and Thailand’s TrueMove will also experience the new rate. Customers of participating member operators should refer to their home operators for more information on when the service will be available to them.
Alliance Partners NTT Communications on Global Messaging Service for Multinational Corporations
The Alliance is also pleased to announce its partnership with NTT Communications to deliver a comprehensive hosted exchange programme for multinational corporations looking to expand their operations around the Asia region. The new one-stop service will enable multinational corporations to set up their email servers, smart phone procurement such as BlackBerry handsets, and mobile tariff plans quickly and easily in any country with a CONEXUS member presence. The service aims to be convenient, scalable and cost-effective for enterprising businesses hoping to grow regionally. It also ensures that multinational corporations spend more time managing their overseas operations and less time on administering their email and mobile communications requirements. Please visit www.ntt.com/worldwide/g_saas_ex/ for more information.
Finalists for Android Application Development Programme Revealed
CONEXUS Mobile Alliance is today proud to unveil the 13 finalists to its Android Application Development Programme that was introduced in mid-2009. Seven member operators took part in the Android application development programme – Far EasTone (Taiwan), KT Corporation (Korea), Indosat Tbk (Indonesia), NTT DOCOMO (Japan), SMART Communications (Philippines), StarHub (Singapore) and TrueMove (Thailand). The judging criteria used by all operators in selecting these 13 finalists include Innovativeness and Originality, User Experience, Commercial Potential, Relevance to Consumers and localisation capabilities. See ‘Note to the Editor’ for a description of some of the finalists’ applications on show.
Said Dr Kaizad, “We are pleased to introduce these new developments for customers of Alliance member operators as they meet our ultimate aim of providing convenience and peace of mind for business travellers. Since our formation, we have been very encouraged by the strong response to all our joint initiatives. As always, we will strive to work towards providing the most comprehensive and cost effective mobile communications and mobile data roaming services for business travellers in the region.”
For information on CONEXUS Mobile Alliance, visit www.conexusmobile.com
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About CONEXUS Mobile Alliance
Established in April 2006, CONEXUS Mobile Alliance is one of Asia's largest mobile alliances. The alliance is formed to develop and enhance international roaming and corporate mobile services for greater convenience and ease of use for its members' customers. The alliance is committed to promoting voice, video and data roaming via its members' GSM/GPRS, W-CDMA networks and/or HSDPA networks and aims to create a Virtual Home Environment for its member customers to experience seamless, convenient mobile-related services when they roam. The Alliance boasts a combined customer base of more than 240 million mobile subscribers.
For more information, visit www.conexusmobile.com
NOTE TO THE EDITOR
These are some of the Android applications selected by CONEXUS Mobile Alliance -
| Country | Application Name (Developer) | Description of Application |
| Indonesia |
Ultraport (Andry Soeprapto) |
This application combines the power of the mobile community & the mobile’s GPS capability to allow users to get the latest information on traffic conditions in an easy-to-read format. |
| Indonesia |
Pocket Order (Yoga Aribowo) |
Focused application that gives users a comprehensive way of searching, ordering and getting the products delivered to their address. Merchants can also analyse customers’ buying behaviours and manage their order inventory. |
| Korea |
Spree (RhaRham Interactive Inc.) |
A SNS (Social Network System) application which enables users to manage their articles and the subsequent replies on multiple SNS sites easily through an integrated SNS system. |
| Korea |
Search Music (Interware Co. Ltd) |
Music recognition application which identifies the title and singer based on a partial clip of the music. |
| Philippines |
DisasterALERT! (GeoSpatial Solutions. Inc.) |
Application that allows users to gather real-time information on local disasters and emergencies in their location, including the ability to view affected areas and the creation of community-based digital disaster response centres. |
| Philippines |
Remote Droid (Blue Chip Design Inc.) |
Enables the user to remotely access their handset from another location. They can send SMSes, get contact information, messages and so on. |
| Singapore |
X Vocab (Benoit Doumas) |
Simple-to-use universal language learning assistant to help users learn any language they are interested in |
| Taiwan |
BaiBai (Worship) Online (Squek Kou, Tina Chen, Ed Chang, Jerry Shang, Irene Chen) |
Online service that uses a mobile handset with a built-in GPS and digital compass to provide information of Taiwan’s major temples, so that users are able to worship in a digital way. |
| Taiwan |
Frienditude (Yu-Chih Tseng, Hsueh Chuan Liu) |
Application that integrates the mobile phonebook with social networking websites for the latest status of the user’s contacts. |
| Thailand |
Sawan Ban Na - Paradise Farm (Project Saturday) |
Game where players become traditional Thai rice farmers. |
| Thailand |
Thai Top Load (True Move Co. Ltd.) |
Allows users to enjoy daily updates of the video clips most watched by Thai Internet users, music videos and movie trailers. |
