Ericsson, Motorola and ZTE join Bridge Mobile Alliance as new alliance members

Membership base increased from eight to eleven members
Launch of Associate Membership Scheme to extend alliance membership to technology players
Focus on joint collaboration across mobile service development value chain with five regional service incubation initiatives in the pipeline

For the first time, Bridge Mobile Alliance, Asia Pacific’s largest mobile alliance group has extended its alliance membership, previously open to only top-tier mobile operators in Asia Pacific, to include global technology partners, under its newly launched Associate Membership scheme.

The group announced today that global technology powerhouses Ericsson, Motorola and ZTE are amongst the first three technology companies to sign up with Bridge Mobile Alliance as associate members – bringing its membership base from eight to eleven members. The other eight members are the founding mobile operators: Airtel (India), CSL (Hong Kong), Globe Telecom (Philippines), Maxis (Malaysia), SingTel Mobile (Singapore), SingTel Optus (Australia), Taiwan Mobile (Taiwan) and Telkomsel (Indonesia).

The Associate Membership scheme is an extension of the alliance membership structure to include key technology players such as application solution vendors, handset and network equipment providers and content developers. The purpose is to promote knowledge exchange and joint collaboration between mobile operators and technology solutions providers across the mobile service development value chain – so as to develop next-generation mobile technologies that are customised for the Asia Pacific mobile markets.

Dr Patrick Sim, CEO of Bridge Mobile, said, “We are very pleased to have Ericsson, Motorola and ZTE joining Bridge Mobile Alliance as pioneering technology partner members to the alliance. All three companies are global leaders in their respective fields; this augurs well into our strategy of attracting the best of breed members to our alliance.”

Bert Nordberg, Executive Vice President for Group Function Sales and Marketing of Ericsson, said, “Ericsson is proud to be a technology partner in the Bridge Mobile Alliance. This partnership further reinforces our commitment towards supporting multi-country operators and alliances, and underlines the importance of the Asia Pacific market to us. We believe that our technology leadership, as well as our established track record in the hosting, management and delivery of innovative services, will enable us to contribute positively towards the fast launch of seamless mobile services to meet the growing demand of consumers in the Asia Pacific region.”

Alan Nicklos, General Manager of Motorola South East Asia, said, “Bridge Mobile Alliance shares the same vision and commitment as Motorola to deliver quality mobile services to the masses. Motorola is privileged to be selected as the technology partner of choice. With this partnership, we look forward to strengthening our relationship with the alliance members and play a pivotal role in providing quality handsets with leading solutions in these markets.”

Pang Shengqing, Vice President of ZTE Corporation, said, “We are delighted to be the strategic technology member of Bridge Mobile Alliance, which aims to create consistent delivery of mobile services across the region and offer customers a seamless home-like experience beyond borders. As China’s largest listed telecommunications manufacturer and wireless solutions provider, ZTE is well positioned to collaborate closely with the alliance. So far, ZTE has delivered telecommunications equipment, mobile terminals and services to both wireless and wireline operators and service providers in over 60 countries and regions. We believe that the collaboration with the alliance will further boost our cooperation with operator members in the Asia Pacific region to deliver cross-border services more cost-effectively.”

Mr Lim Chuan Poh, Chairman of Bridge Mobile Alliance, said, “What is pervasive in the mobile service industry landscape today is the fragmentation of technological developments across different technology players and solution providers. Mobile operators are also faced with the difficulty of making investment decisions for new service offerings as yet another technology or standard emerges. To overcome these challenges, technology players and operators must collaborate more closely to redefine the service creation and delivery landscape, starting as early as research and development. The Bridge Mobile Alliance service incubation programme aims to achieve this by enabling early access to new technology research and development. It will leverage the collective R&D expertise and resources of the partners to create solutions that are relevant for Asian operators.”

Dr Patrick Sim, CEO of Bridge Mobile, said, “The Asia Pacific’s mobile market has vast growth potential. However, because of diverse market developments, there is a lack of common standards and service platforms that would enable interoperability of mobile devices and services across the region – which is one of the key factors hindering the region from reaching the next frontier of mobile revolution. With the establishment of our extensive regional footprint and shared infrastructure, we are able to deliver end-to-end solutions seamlessly across Asia Pacific. The joining of global technology players such as Ericsson, Motorola and ZTE would help us pioneer the development of Asian-centric mobile technologies and services, thereby bringing the alliance to the forefront of leading-edge innovation.”

Under the Associate Membership Scheme, technology partner members will have exclusive access to regular planning and dialogue sessions, to exchange ideas and generate collaborative opportunities in various areas. The collaborative process will be facilitated through a service incubation programme, which enables member operators and technology partner members to test and co-develop proof-of-concepts for next-generation mobile technologies and services in Asia Pacific. To kick off this collaborative process, a total of five regional service incubation initiatives have been identified in the pipeline. They are:

Regional Mobile Concierge Portal : creation and development of a multi-channel, location-aware mobile concierge portal to provide concierge assistance and travel information services to roamers on the operator members’ networks.

Regional Mobile Commerce : creation and development of mobile commerce platform solutions, to enable cross-border peer-to-peer and merchant payment services.

Regional Content Portal : creation and development of regional content distribution platforms and systems for the delivery of enhanced content such as music streaming and multi-player gaming facilities.

Regional Enterprise Solutions : creation and development of enterprise mobile solutions comprising a suite of value-added voice and data services for enterprise customers.

3G Value-Added Services : creation and development of a suite of differentiating value-added 3G services and applications.

For each initiative, various members may collaborate to jointly research and develop the enabling technologies and solutions across the mobile service creation and delivery value chain, ranging from software applications to network access platforms, to smart cards and devices.

The addition of technology partner members will serve to increase the alliance’s involvement in up-stream developments in the mobile value chain, as well as foster tighter collaborative relationships between mobile operators and technology players. This will enable the creation of customised mobile applications and equipment that can support the seamless delivery of next-generation services across the alliance network , hence bringing Asia Pacific’s mobile markets to the next frontier of development.