Ericsson announced that its regional network operations centre in Singapore is now fully operational to support growth in managed services in Asia Pacific. The centre, believed to be one of the first of its kind in the region, is equipped with leading-edge network management tools and technologies to support customers in Asia Pacific with full network operations and maintenance. It is also fully-equipped to provide hosting services for mobile applications and content management to operators and service providers in the region.
"There has been strong growth in managed services in Europe, the Middle East, North America and Latin America over the past few years, reflecting a trend between operators and vendors to work as partners to reduce costs and maximize revenues by bringing new and advanced services to market quickly and cost-effectively. We expect this growth to be replicated in Asia Pacific, particularly in the South-East Asian countries," said Mr Claes Odman, President & Country Manager of Ericsson Singapore.
"With Ericsson's industry leadership in managed services and extensive global experience in helping operators achieve fast time to market of new consumer services, supreme network quality and increased cost efficiency, as well as our proven track record in managing complex multi-vendor and multi-technology systems, we are well-positioned to capture a significant share of this growth," he added.
Ericsson has announced 34 managed services contracts since 2002 - 13 for Managed Operations, 17 for Managed Hosting and 4 for Managed Capacity. Out of the 34, 6 are in Asia Pacific, with the most recent wins being Sun Cellular in Philippines and Maxis Communications in Malaysia.
Speaking at the official opening of the facility in Singapore, Mr Teo Ming Kian, Chairman, Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) said, "Singapore makes for an excellent base for companies like Ericsson to manage the growing Asia-Pacific telecom market. Our strategic location, excellent technological infrastructure, extensive connectivity to the world and highly sophisticated market mean that companies can leverage upon Singapore as a springboard to launch exciting new services for regional and global markets. Ericsson's new network operations centre will not only add to the vibrancy of Singapore's mobile communications ecosystem, but will also position Singapore for leadership in managed services in Asia-Pacific".
"We are pleased with Ericsson's decision to locate their regional network operations centre and service layer hosting here in Singapore," Mr Khoong Hock Yun, Assistant Chief Executive, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore shared. "This decision is a validation of our status as a digital content hub and established infrastructure that serves as the ideal distribution launch pad to the Asia Pacific region. IDA wishes Ericsson every success as they embark on this new venture."
The centre manages mobile systems integration and round-the-clock 24 hours, 7 days a week operations plus maintenance and integration of network infrastructure. It is supported by state-of-the-art Network Management tools and processes to ensure optimum solutions for its customers.
The centre houses mobile platforms specialists and dedicated customer helpdesk to ensure top-notch delivery. A secure equipment room provides round-the-clock security for customers' hosting operations.
It also provides hosting solutions for mobile applications and content management such as Multi-Media Messaging Service (MMS), push-to-talk, streaming, pre-paid and content settlement. In addition, it offers content management and distribution of music, entertainment, games and many more.
An example of Ericsson's hosted services is the mobile music service, M-USE, developed by Ericsson in cooperation with the music industry, allowing customers to easily download a wide variety of music content from major record companies to their mobiles. The hosted mobile music service, which is part of Ericsson's Managed Services offering, makes it easier for operators to offer attractive content for their customers and bring the service to market quickly while controlling capital and operational costs.
The M-USE service can deliver a variety of true tones (ringtones playing the original music), polyphonic ring tones, Star MMS (artist pictures and music clips), mobile karaoke, video clip download, video clip streaming, as well as artiste greetings and artiste news.
M-USE uses the latest in Digital Rights Management (DRM) as well as an artificial intelligence engine which continuously monitors users' individual music tastes and then recommends complementary music for each user. This advanced personalization engine is unique to M-USE. It works independently of handsets, and subscribers do not need unique download devices or terminals beyond their handsets to enjoy the service.
Apart from the Singapore facility, Ericsson has six other Network Operations Centres, in Sydney, Stockholm, Rijen, Dallas, Sao Paolo and Rome.
Ericsson is shaping the future of Mobile and Broadband Internet communications through its continuous technology leadership. Providing innovative solutions in more than 140 countries, Ericsson is helping to create the most powerful communication companies in the world.
Read more at http://www.ericsson.com/press
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
Jacinta Ong, Head of Communications
Ericsson Singapore
Phone : +65 6880 8667 (DID)
