Five telcom cos in pact to boost ‘Wi-Fi’ services

Five Asia-Pacific telecom operators announced an alliance on Thursday to promote technology for connecting laptops or personal digital assis...

Five Asia-Pacific telecom operators announced an alliance on Thursday to promote technology for connecting laptops or personal digital assistants to the Web at broadband speeds on wireless local area networks (WLANs).

The ‘Wi-Fi’ alliance between operators from Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, China and South Korea also called for the development of seamless roaming across regional networks and a common recognised alliance brand.

The agreement was signed by South Korea’s KT Corp, ChinaNetcom Corp, Malaysia’s top cell phone group Maxis Communications Bhd, Australia’s Telstra Corp, and Singapore’s third-largest telcoms group, StarHub.

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A pilot project for inter-operator roaming will be rolled out by end of July, StarHub said. “This is the first cross-border alliance in the world that can create enhanced customer experience, simplify roaming issues and establish a certain quality of service for Wi-Fi users,” StarHub chief executive Terry Clontz told a news conference.

The five telcos will pump more than $100,000 a year into the partnership, StarHub said. “We are also in talks with other major operators who have expressed interest in joining the alliance,” Walter Lee, head of StarHub Interactive, said.