Service News

U.S. video streaming service provider Netflix has entered negotiations with Indonesia’s leading telecommunications firm PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia TBK (Telkom) in an effort to roll out its services all across the country. Netflix has adapted to the significant changes and demand in the ever-evolving entertainment industry since its inception in 1997 – and has subsequently enjoyed huge success globally and is now one of the most recognized brands in the world.

Netflix got into hot water with the authorities in Indonesia last year, after the country’s censorship board deemed the video streaming service provider to be guilty of screening inappropriately violent or sexual content. Indonesia, a country with a population of 250 million was a very important strategic target for management at Netflix as they made an effort to aggressively expand on a global basis. The organization faced several problems in the Asian market, citing issues with local competition and regulatory hurdles as the main challenges presented.

The communications ministry of Indonesia which is home to the world’s largest Muslim population demanded that the US firm set up a HQ in the country and pay local taxes in an effort to support and contribute to the Indonesian economy. However, in an effort to re-enter the market successfully Netflix have engaged in talks with Telkom. Both parties are attempting to negotiate a partnership agreement with Netflix and hope to complete the process next month.

Vice president for corporate communication at Telkom, Arif Prabowo, admitted that his organization where concerned that Netflix carried content that had a ‘negative element’ – but declared an interest in working together with the US video streaming colossus – as it would significantly boost Telkom’s content offering.

He said, "If we work together, that means we would know and can be responsible for the content broadcast by Netflix. Teaming up with Netflix would expand Telkom's content offering. The choices for our customers will be more varied."

A Netflix spokeswoman declined to comment on the negotiations but didn’t refute claims that they had begun discussions with the Indonesian telco.

Virgin Australia has announced a partnership with leading in-flight connectivity provider Gogo and Australia’s leading satellite provider Optus to provide customers with in-flight Wi-Fi on domestic and international services.

US e-commerce company Amazon has been granted a wallet license as it steps up its effort to boost its business in India. The electronic and cloud computing colossus has sought the license in order to ensure customers paying experience using Amazon’s platform in India will experience less friction. The multinational corporation headquartered in Seattle was awarded the license in March, but only officially announced it this week.

Facebook-owned WhatsApp will soon reportedly offer digital payment services in India which will be its first offering globally. WhatsApp founder, Brian Acton, first mentioned the idea to local media in February that the app was in the early stages of investigating digital payments in India. The company is looking a digital transactions lead in the country.

Chinese multinational conglomerate Huawei has identified video as a new opportunity for mobile operators to monetize their services. The Chinese smartphone maker believes that video represents a new cash cow for operators with the entertainment market opportunity estimated at $650m worldwide by 2020. President of Huawei’s products and solutions, Ryan Ding, maintained that operators in various markets are already making the move to monetize video services, such as high-definition streaming of sport events.

Indian Mobile services provider Mahindra Comviva has outlined its vision for 2017 – and the benefits of its recently launched payment solution that is set to ‘digitalize’ rural India. The company supports the government’s strategic vision and initiative called ‘Digital India’ which aims to get vast parts of the Indian population digitized. Mahindra Comviva has recently launched an application specifically designed for consumers based in rural parts of India where internet penetration is extremely low. At Mobile World Congress, Telecom Review spoke to Mahindra Comviva’s Vice President, of its Mobile Financial Solutions, Vamsi Madhav, to explore what impact the application will have on rural regions in India and find out the complex challenges facing the organization in its attempts to ensure the innovative project is a successful one.

Indian telecoms giant Reliance Jio has “fully withdrawn” its Jio Summer Surprise Offer upon advice from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Vodafone claimed in a letter to the regulator that Reliance Jio was “luring customers” to subscribe and was breaking regulatory norms.

Telcotech, a subsidiary of EZECOM, and partners - Malaysia Telekom, Malaysia Berhad and Symphony Communication of Thailand - celebrated the momentous launch of the Malaysia-Cambodia-Thailand (MCT) Submarine Cable System and Landing Station in Cambodia. Huawei Marine, a global submarine network solution provider, was contracted to design and deploy the system.

Chinese smartphone giant and telecoms equipment maker Huawei has formally announced its intentions to become a global provider of public cloud services. The company aims to compete with Amazon and Alibaba in order to become a global leader in the sector. Huawei confirmed that it plans to recruit more than 2,000 employees that will form its new cloud computing division.

Telecom Review secured an exclusive interview with ZTE Director of Wireless Innovation Solutions, Summer Chen, in order to find out where the company stood in relation to implementing 5G technologies and establish what projects it's currently working on to ensure the transition from 4G to 5G.