SINGTEL GROUP AND SAMSUNG TO ACCELERATE MOBILE DATA GROWTH IN EMERGING MARKETS

Landmark partnership to benefit over 500 million mobile customers across the region

Singapore, 11 April 2014 – The SingTel Group and Samsung today unveiled a suite of joint initiatives designed to bring a seamless and richer mobile data experience for customers.

To be progressively launched by entities in the SingTel Group – SingTel in Singapore, Optus in Australia, AIS in Thailand, Airtel in India and Africa, Globe Telecom in the Philippines and Telkomsel in Indonesia – these initiatives cut across many areas such as marketing, content and technology.  This collaboration will help differentiate the entities’ services and improve their competitiveness.

Mr Paul O’Sullivan, CEO Group Consumer, SingTel said, “Our partnership with Samsung demonstrates SingTel Group’s ability to leverage its combined scale and deliver exclusive offerings to our over half a billion customers across the region.”

Mr DJ Lee, President and Head of Global Sales and Marketing of Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics said, “This unique partnership with SingTel Group is important for us to reach a broader audience across the markets we operate in. Samsung, together with SingTel Group, a visionary group of operators, aims to bring better and a more complete set of products and services to our consumers.”

Mr Moon Soo Kim, President and CEO of Samsung Asia added, “As mobile usage grows in the region, Samsung will continue to work hand-in-hand with partners like SingTel to bring more innovative technology and services to consumers in the market.”

Initiatives under this partnership include a retail collaboration programme, direct carrier billing, regional mobile app development challenge and direct access to selected apps.

• Retail collaboration programme

The retail collaboration programme simplifies the customer retail experience by providing a one-stop shop for their smartphone needs at selected stores of Samsung and the SingTel Group’s regional mobile associates. Typically, customers in these markets have to acquire the mobile device and the mobile plan separately from the phone distributor and mobile operators.  This special arrangement will further cement the Group’s associates’ brand presence with mid- and high-end customers of Samsung. This initiative is now available to customers of Globe Telecom (Philippines) and will be progressively made available to customers of Airtel (India) and Telkomsel (Indonesia).

• Direct carrier billing with Samsung Apps

SingTel (Singapore) is the first in South East Asia to offer direct carrier billing for Samsung Apps allowing its postpaid customers to buy apps and content from Samsung Apps without a credit card. This initiative will be progressively rolled out to AIS (Thailand), Globe Telecom (Philippines) and Telkomsel (Indonesia), customers. Customers of these companies can soon buy apps and content from Samsung Apps by simply charging the purchase amount to their phone bills or deducting it from their prepaid account balances. With direct carrier billing, the broader customer base in the emerging markets will have an alternative means for payment instead of relying on credit cards.

• Mobile app development programme

Members of the SingTel Group and Samsung are coming together to give the app development ecosystem a boost. The mobile app development sponsorship programme will identify innovative start-ups in the region and help them to accelerate their development and gain access to the Group’s 500 million mobile customers. Selected developers from this programme will have the opportunity to have their apps marketed by SingTel (Singapore), Optus (Australia), AIS (Thailand), Globe Telecom (Philippines), and Telkomsel (Indonesia) in their respective markets.

• Direct access to applications

Samsung together with SingTel Group Digital L!fe aim to deliver exciting mobile services to customers by enabling customers to access selected services directly on the phone without the need of having to download them. The applications are carefully customised to reflect local requirements and content. This arrangement will be available to customers of AIS (Thailand), Globe Telecom (Philippines), and Telkomsel (Indonesia) starting with the Samsung Galaxy S5.

Mr Wichien Mektrakarn, CEO, AIS, said, “This is a fantastic opportunity for all AIS customers. They will have access to the latest applications that cater to any lifestyles imaginable.  This is all made possible through this collaboration.”

Mr Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO, Bharti Airtel (India & South Asia) said, “Airtel is proud to be part of the SingTel Group’s partnership with Samsung. Our association with Samsung in particular has helped us propel smartphone penetration and data adoption in the country and the launch of Samsung Galaxy S5 is yet another step in this direction.”

Mr Christian de Faria, Airtel Africa’s CEO said, “Airtel has Africa’s widest internet footprint given its African presence across 17 countries; and mobile devices are already the main platform for internet access given the limited reach of the fixed broadband network. Despite the astonishing progress of the industry in recent years, the biggest impact of the mobile internet in Africa is yet to come, with innovations like the Samsung Galaxy S5.”

Mr Ernest Cu, CEO, Globe Telecom said, “Globe and Samsung have a strong collaboration in the Philippines to give mobile phone users a differentiated customer experience. This will be brought to life with the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S5 in the country, with Globe offering the best postpaid deals complemented by exclusive privileges, further cementing our leadership in the postpaid market.”

Mr Alex J. Sinaga, CEO, Telkomsel said, “For Telkomsel customers, this partnership will mark a great shift in how customers purchase phones and applications; this will certainly help Telkomsel stand out from its competitors, as well as deliver the best digital mobile lifestyle experience to our customers.”

About SingTel
SingTel is Asia’s leading communications group providing a portfolio of services including voice and data solutions over fixed, wireless and Internet platforms as well as infocomm technology and pay TV. The Group has presence in Asia and Africa with over 500 million mobile customers in 25 countries.
SingTel is a strategic investor in the region’s most successful mobile operations.  It has a 23% stake in Thailand’s Advanced Info Service (AIS). It has a 32% effective interest in Airtel, India’s largest GSM operator, which has significant presence in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Africa.  SingTel has a 47% stake in Globe Telecom in the Philippines and a 35% stake in Indonesia’s largest mobile operator, Telkomsel. It also has a 45% stake in Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited (PBTL). More information can be found at www.singtel.com and www.optus.com.au.

About AIS
Advanced Info Service (Public) Company Limited or AIS, Thailand’s No. 1 Wireless Communication Service Provider, has operated for 23 years with currently 41 million registered numbers. AIS incorporates the concept “Your World Your Way” in the Quality DNAs integral pillars including Device, Network, Application and Customer service excellence. For more information, visit www.ais.co.th.

About Bharti Airtel
Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 4 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company’s product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed DSL broadband, IPTV, DTH, enterprise services including national & international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 289 million customers across its operations at the end of January 2014. To know more please visit, www.airtel.com.

About Globe Telecom 
Globe Telecom is a leading full service telecommunications company in the Philippines, serving the needs of consumers and businesses across an entire suite of products and services including mobile, fixed, broadband, data connections, internet and managed services.  Its principals are Ayala Corporation and SingTel who are acknowledged industry leaders in the country and in the region. For more information, visit www.globe.com.ph.

About Telkomsel 
Telkomsel is the world’s 6th largest cellular operator by number of subscribers and the market leader in Indonesia’s telecommunication industry that serves more than 131,5 million subscribers. With 69,000 Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) Telkomsel provides the largest network coverage in Indonesia, reaching almost all of Indonesia’s population.  As a pioneer in the development of Indonesia’s mobile telecommunication industry and to enter the advanced stage of mobile broadband services, Telkomsel provides cellular services through GSM Dual Band (900 & 1800), GPRS, Wi-Fi, EDGE, 3G, HSDPA, and HSPA+ networks throughout Indonesia, and is testing Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology. To serve customers’ needs, Telkomsel is supported by a 24-hour call center and 410 service centers throughout Indonesia.  Learn more at www.telkomsel.com.

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Optus Corporate Affairs
Phone: 02 8082 7850
Email: media@optus.com.au