News Story
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12/09/
Nokia appoints SGT 2002 14:50:09 as sole Asia Pacific data comms.provider
SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED. 2002-09-12 ASX-SIGNAL-G
HOMEX - Sydney
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (SingTel) has clinched a
multi-million dollar deal to connect and expand Nokia's
telecommunications network in the Asia Pacific region.
SingTel will support Nokia's telecommunications network, which covers
12 countries and territories, linking its regional headquarters in
Singapore to offices and manufacturing plants elsewhere in the
region. These include providing international ATM (Asynchronous
Transfer Mode) links from Singapore to Indonesia, Japan, Korea,
Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand and frame relay service to
Vietnam and India.
Through SingTel Optus, SingTel will also provide Nokia with
end-to-end international ATM connections from Singapore to Australia
and from Australia to New Zealand.
The new contract will make SingTel the sole data communications
provider for Nokia in the region. Nokia had previously used SingTel
and another global service provider for its international network
connectivity in the Asia Pacific region.
Nokia, the world's largest mobile handset manufacturer, decided last
year that it would be more cost effective to consolidate its network
requirements under a single telecom provider in the region. Several
major global and regional service providers including SingTel were
invited to bid for the tender which was evaluated based on Nokia's
Wide Area Network (WAN) requirements, as well as the track record of
the service providers and cost.
"This was not a simple migration from one provider to another. We are
at the same time doubling the bandwidth for destinations such as the
Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam," said Mr Juha Kassinen, Head of
Nokia's Network Operations. "We were looking for a service provider
who is able to meet all our different needs, including availability,
quality, cost and technical services and SingTel had the best
combination. We have been using SingTel's services for a while and we
are happy with its track record and stability of its network."
Once its Asia Pacific network is fully migrated to SingTel by the end
of this year, Nokia expects to see a cost reduction of about 20 per
cent, compared to using multiple service providers previously. "We
will review our backbone network again for any need to expand and
diversify, and we certainly look forward to working with SingTel in
our future expansion plans," said Mr Kassinen.
Mr Lim Chuan Poh, SingTel's Executive Vice President (Corporate
Business) said: "We are proud and delighted that Nokia has chosen to
use SingTel exclusively for its pan-regional network. This is an
endorsement from a world-class manufacturer of SingTel's reliability
and capabilities not just in our traditional hub of Singapore but
also in Australia and across the Asia Pacific."
SingTel has an on-going programme to enhance its competitiveness and
better serve multinational corporations in the region. In June this
year, SingTel announced a S$170 million initiative to upgrade its
infrastructure including its global ConnectPlus network. The Group
has also set up SingTel Global Offices in 29 cities across the world
to provide in-country support to customers.