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Tag: PCCW

  • SP Telecom to build alternative fiber network in Singapore

    SP Telecom to build alternative fiber network in Singapore

    Singapore-based telecommunications joint venture SP Telecom has engaged PCCW Solutions as a consultancy partner to help design and deploy the company’s planned alternative fiber network.

    The company has provided details of its plans to build an alternative to Singapore’s next-generation national broadband network (NG-NBN).

    SP Telecom, a joint venture between ST Engineering and Singapore Power Group, is deploying its network alongside the power lines operated by SP Group to create a separate fiber infrastructure to the NG-NBN.

    SP Telecom’s network will serve as the only rival to the NG-NBN common network infrastructure, offering route diversity and redundancy for enterprise customers.

    The alternative data fiber network will utilize SDN-NFV capabilities in a bid to allow users greater control, visibility and scalability of their network assets, as well as built-in cybersecurity capabilities.

    These capabilities will allow for the deployment of network functions as a service on demand without the need for costly hardware investment.

    SP Telecom plans to offer services including access to an IoT-as-a-Service platform, edge cloud resources, and bandwidth provision on demand.

    “An increasing number of businesses rely on their communications systems for mission-critical applications. They can no longer afford any downtime that can cause major problems and significant losses in terms of costs, productivity and reputation,” SP Telecom CEO Titus Yong said.

    “As SP Telecom forges forward towards providing an advanced solution that supports Smart City developments, we are confident that the consultancy partnership with PCCW Solutions will enable our plans of becoming an advanced network provider to meet fast-evolving digital needs globally.”

  • Blockchain used for inter-carrier settlements in PoC trial

    Blockchain used for inter-carrier settlements in PoC trial

    Members of the International Telecoms Week (ITW) Global Leaders’ Forum (GLF), including PCCW Global and Telstra, have completed a proof of concept trial demonstrating how blockchain technology can transform inter-carrier settlement by streamlining complex transactions.

    The two operators as well as Colt Technology Services, BT, Orange and Telefonica, demonstrated the viability of a platform capable of settling voice transactions between operators within minutes rather than hours.

    The demonstration represents the first proof of concept blockchain trial to involve a multi-lateral series of relationships within the wholesale telecoms sector. It was the latest in a series of trials carried out by CLF members in collaboration with technology partner Clear, a blockchain specialist.

    The proof of concept was able to demonstrate that live data feeds could be successfully input into a distributed ledger, enabling traffic to be automatically verified and settled between two carriers.

    In a statement, the GLF said it is now reviewing its options over a potential governance structure to further develop the technology and implement a solution for the entire industry.

    “This latest PoC signals nothing less than the future of telecoms, whereby intensive manual practices can be securely automated across the wholesale ecosystem,” Colt Technology Services CEO Carl Grivner said.

    “This is a major step forward by Colt and its partners, meaning we can now invest further resources into driving both our and our customers’ businesses forward using the power of blockchain.”

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  • PCCW launches e-commerce platform Habbitzz to plug Hong Kong market

    PCCW launches e-commerce platform Habbitzz to plug Hong Kong market

    Hong Kong tech company PCCW is about to launch a B2C e-commerce platform, Habbitzz.

    Kicking off on March 6, it will feature 15,000 SKUs from more than 1000 international brands covering alcohol, babycare, electronics, fashion and beauty, sports and lifestyle, and travel.

    “Think of us as the Amazon of Hong Kong, but remove all the low-end products,” says Habbitzz CEO Alex Bono, who is also senior VP of e-commerce for PCCW solutions, the IT and outsourcing services division of the conglomerate.

    PCCW has been preparing the venture for nine months, and says it came up with the name Habbitzz because it wants Hong Kong consumers to move beyond their more traditional habits of shopping.

    Bono says the goal is to have 100,000 products and services by this time next year, with a broader O2O strategy in the works by 2019 or 2020.

    Alongside the main business of Habbitzz Retail – the webstore reselling products from both mainstream and niche merchants – are two other business lines: Habbitzz Express (warehouse and logistics support) and Habbitzz Services (CRM, data analytics and payment gateway technology).

    “At speed”

    Bono says PCCW is letting Habbitzz have “more freedom to execute at speed”.

    “One year in, this startup will be like five years in a corporation like PCCW that is accustomed to big, finalised products,” he says.

    PCCW had previously tried to grow e-commerce “in a corporate way” with its e-commerce-as-a-service package. In November 2015, PCCW Solutions also ventured into e-commerce logistics. With LTF Asia, it jointly launched a network of automated lockers, House of Parcels, to store online orders for customer pick-up.

    For Habbitzz, Bono has hired almost 100 employees based in Hong Kong and the Philippines including data scientists, software engineers, merchandisers, product managers, search-engine technologists and design specialists.

    Habbitzz’s main local rival, HKTVMall, launched in 2015 and today handles 7600 daily orders, taking in an average of HK$537 an order from 180,000 products out of 2700 brands.

    “There will be categories in which Habbitzz will overlap with HKTVMall, but we aim for premium positioning,” says Bono. “We will definitely not hold any cheap brands.”

    He says Habbitzz is aiming for same-day or even a four-hour delivery window.

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  • PCCW Global, Keppel launch ICX in HK

    PCCW Global, Keppel launch ICX in HK

    Hong Kong based PCCW Global has teamed up with Keppel Data Centres to launch a joint international carrier exchange (ICX) in Hong Kong.

    The PCCW Global-Keppel International Carrier Exchange has more than 7,800 square feet of dedicated network facility management space.

    It is located in the same building as the Hong Kong point of presence for the Asia-Africa-Europe 1 (AAE-1) subsea cable and connects to the subsea cable landing station of Hong Kong hyper scale data centers via PCCW Global parent HKT’s extensive domestic fiber network.

    PCCW Global and Keppel Data Centres entered into a long-term agreement covering the development of the ICX last year. It aims to use the region’s subsea cable capacity to provide fast and robust connections to Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America.

    The partners said the initiative is ultimately aimed at addressing the demand for access performance and network security arising from cloud services, big data, and rich media in business critical applications

    “We are very pleased to see the exciting ICX opening which highlights our very positive relationship with (Keppel Data Centres parent company) Keppel T&T,” PCCW Global CEO Marc Halbfinger said.

    “Our customers and carrier partners now have more low-latency Hong Kong Island choice in accessing digital solutions for responding to the increasing cloud adoption in the region.”

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  • PCCW Global connects to Djibouti Data Center

    PCCW Global connects to Djibouti Data Center

    PCCW Global, the international operating division of Richard Li-owned HKT, has selected Djibouti Data Center (DDC) to facilitate network expansion and the provision of colocation and undersea fiber cable access services in East Africa.

    The Djibouti Data Center has been built to Tier III data center standards and serves as a major meeting point for undersea fiber cable systems including the new Asia-Africa-Europe-1 (AAE-1) submarine cable designed to connect Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

    The AAE-1 system, of which PCCW Global is a founder consortium member, will employ 100Gbps technology, with a capacity of more than 40 terabits to provide customers with low-latency and direct connectivity around the world.

    The 25,000km-long submarine cable is expected to be ready for service by early 2017, connecting Djibouti with Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, India, Pakistan, Oman, UAE, Qatar, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Greece, Italy and France.

    “The addition of AAE-1 to PCCW Global’s existing undersea fiber cable assets in the region will enable us to provide even more robust services, along with lower latency and increased diversity, boosting services levels for our customers,” said Jordick Wong, senior vice president of product and vendor management at PCCW Global.

    Wong said the partnership with DDC is an important element of its wider pan-African development and expansion plans.

    It enables PCCW Global to establish cross-connect and colocation facilities directly adjacent to Djibouti Telecom’s cable landing stations. In addition to supporting AAE-1 in the near future, the DDC provides access to fiber-cable systems such as EIG, EASSy, Aden-Djibouti, and Ethiopia-Djibouti, Wong added.

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  • Sour note for Lancome-sponsored concert

    Sour note for Lancome-sponsored concert

    Make-up brand Lancome, along with other stores owned by French cosmetics giant L’Oreal, closed in Hong Kong yesterday in the face of protests over the cancelling of a Lancome-sponsored concert featuring a pro-democracy singer.

    As well as Lancome’s booth at Lane Crawford, Times Square, Yves Saint Laurent Beaute and Helena Rubinstein’s booths, as well as Shu Uemura’s store, were all closed. Lancome’s office at Times Square was also shuttered. In Causeway Bay, Lancome counters in Sogo and Hysan Place were both closed, while those for other brands under L’Oreal, such as Shu Uemura, were open.

    Dozens of protesters earlier crowded the Lane Crawford store in Times Square accusing Lancome of bowing to China by cancelling the concert, starring cantopop singer Denise Ho Wan-sze.

    Carrying yellow umbrellas – a symbol of Hong Kong’s democracy movement, which is supported by Ho – and banners in Chinese, English and French, the protesters were shouting: “L’Oreal! No self-censorship.”

    Hong Kong internet users and political activists have also vowed to boycott all brands under the L’Oreal banner, including Lancome, Kiehl’s, Shu Uemura and The Body Shopimes, a tabloid published by the Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Daily newspaper, criticised Lancome for working with Ho. This sparked calls online in China to shun Lancome’s business on the mainland.

    “Tough times”

    Ho says she was saddened by the cancellation of her concert.

    “I am quite shocked that a global brand such as Lancome … would succumb to the pressure from Chinese tabloid news or the Chinese market,” says the 39-year-old singer.

    “In Hong Kong we have been going through really rough times,” she says. “Most of we celebrities wouldn’t dare to speak out for ourselves because we know that self-censorship is really serious right now in Hong Kong. But I wouldn’t think that worldwide brands such as Lancome or L’Oreal would succumb to this kind of pressure.”

    L’Oreal, which counts China as its second strongest market for sales behind the US, says it cancelled the concert because of safety concerns.

    Booked to perform on June 19, Ho wrote on her Facebook page that Lancome’s decision was self-censorship. “When a brand like Lancome has to kneel down to a bullying hegemony… the world’s values have been seriously twisted.”

    Meanwhile, the controversy has escalated on the mainland, with internet users threatening to boycott a host of Hong Kong companies tied to billionaire Richard Li Tzar-kai, whose company PCCW owns the Moov fitness app, which suggested on Monday that it would “employ Denise Ho permanently”.

    Li’s family is also involved with such companies as Johnson and Johnson, Listerine and Watsons. Ho is a spokesperson for Listerine.

    PCCW says that while Richard Li and Moov respect freedom of expression and staunchly oppose Hong Kong independence, Moov has no intention to engage in political matters, and the expression “permanent employment” was used before online comments linked the message to political discussions.

    Meanwhile, Ho says Lancome should stand firm on its core values and moral standards. The singer was  among more than 200 people arrested as the pro-democracy protests ended in December 2014. She was blacklisted by mainland media along with singer Anthony Wong Yiu-ming.

  • PCCW’s Viu debuts in Indonesia

    PCCW’s Viu debuts in Indonesia

    Vuclip, a PCCW Media company launched in Indonesia the over-the-top (OTT) video-on-demand (VOD) service Viu, which has already rolled out in Malaysia, India, Hong Kong and Singapore.

    To amplify its efforts to deliver throughout Indonesia, Vuclip has entered into strategic partnerships with IndiHome Fiber, Telkomsel and Samsung.

    These partnerships enable Viu subscribers to experience content that is delivered “at the fastest speeds, through the most reliable networks, on a variety of devices, at the most competitive rates available.”

    For IndiHome Fiber-to-the-Home (FTH) subscribers, Viu content will be delivered through Telkom’s bundled speed plans on the FTH network.

    Telkomsel and Vuclip have strategically partnered for Indonesians to enjoy Viu content through Telkomsel broadband networks, and special bundled data package pricing for consumers.

    Through Viu’s exclusive device partnership with Samsung, Samsung Galaxy users with select smartphones and tablets can access all Viu content when they activate the “Viu partner offer” via their Samsung Galaxy devices.

    “Mobile devices have driven internet growth in Indonesia. The number of Samsung Galaxy users who enjoy video streaming has also shown significant growth,” said Denny Galant, head of product marketing at Samsung Electronics Indonesia.

    Through our partnership, our Samsung Galaxy users with selected Samsung Galaxy models will be pampered with the latest Asian serials and other unlimited contents for 12 months,” said Galant.

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