Industry News

KT, NTT DOCOMO, SK Telecom and Verizon have agreed to form a new global initiative, the 5G Open Trial Specification Alliance, to develop an aligned 5G trial specification that will serve as a common, extendable platform for different 5G trial activity around the world. It will focus on technical fundamentals and promote a more inclusive, open and collaborative approach to the development of 5G trial networks, including 5G radio interface trial activities and providing the ability to test and validate key technical components.

IDC, in the sixth edition of its annual assessment of next-generation telecom operators in Asia/Pacific, has named BT, Orange, Singtel and AT&T as the 'leaders' among next-generation telecom service providers in Asia/Pacific, but has singled out Telstra as the most improved telco over the year.

Japan's largest mobile network operator, NTT Docomo has set up Docomo Digital in London as a new global business operation that ""brings together key assets and capabilities to enable m-commerce for mobile network operators, digital and real-world service providers, merchants and regulators.""

Germany based antenna maker Kathrein has opened a new office in Asia-Pacific for regional business and sales management and has appointed Ashwini Bakshi to take responsibility for the APAC region as part of a strategy to enhance its presence in regional markets and to serve customers comprehensively. It plans to add region-specific solutions products to its portfolio.

 IDC forecasts spending on public cloud services in the Asia Pacific region excluding Japan (APeJ) to grow at a 22.9 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) - almost six times the rate of overall IT spending growth - from nearly $7b in 2015 to $15b in 2019, exceeding its predicted growth rate of 19.4 percent CAGR for the global market in the same period.

Qualcomm has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Government of China's Guizhou Province and unveiled a joint venture, the Guizhou Huaxintong Semi-Conductor Technology Co, capitalized to $280m, 55 percent owned by the Guizhou provincial government's investment arm and 45 percent by a subsidiary of Qualcomm.

Wide area network technology vendor Silver Peak has appointed Netpoleon as its distributor for ASEAN, giving companies in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, and Myanmar direct access to its Unity EdgeConnect SD-WAN technology.

Yello Mobile, which claims to be Korea's fastest growing mobile internet company, has signed a MoU with SBI Holdings, Japan's largest internet financial group, and Yello Financial Group, a Korean accelerator for financial technology companies to leverage SBI Holdings' global business network and resources to support its business development efforts in Japan and Southeast Asia.

Indonesia's quest to build a robust digital economy and ecosystem will get a boost in August with the launch of a dedicated series of industry events comprising the inaugural Indonesia ICT Summit, Communic Indonesia and Broadcast Indonesia 2016, to be held from 31 August - 3 September at the Jakarta International Expo, Kemayoran.

IoT platform company Ayla Networks has teamed up with Chinese home appliance maker Changhong to launch a new generation of connected air conditioners. Ayla Networks will provide IoT cloud technology and cloud platform support for Changhong's split air-conditioning products worldwide, and Changhong will also make use of Ayla technology to create smart air-conditioning products in regions outside China.