Telecoms Archives - Page 15 of 16

Rakuten Mobile, NEC and Intel demonstrate industry-leading performance in containerized 5G Core lab trial

Rakuten Mobile, Inc., NEC Corporation and Intel Corporation announced today that they have achieved a performance of 640 Gbps per server for the containerized User Plane Function (UPF) on the containerized 5G SA core network jointly developed by Rakuten Mobile and NEC running on the Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP).

Containerized UPF performance is crucial to maximize the value of 5G deployment. This is because the control plane (C-plane) and user plane (U-plane), which were historically collocated, are completely decoupled in the disaggregated 5G architecture. This enables an independently scalable UPF which is key to private networks, edge computing, hybrid cloud and to accelerate a variety of deployment scenarios. Rakuten Mobile has adopted 5G architecture from the launch of its network, including a CUPS (Control and User Plane Separated) packet core for its 4G LTE network.

The 640 Gbps performance per server for the containerized UPF on the 5G SA core network was achieved in a laboratory environment in Tokyo. This represents a significant opportunity to drive high performance of the commercial network in the future.

NEC leveraged its industry-leading product development based on its advanced telecom and IT expertise to maximize CPU utilization and fast memory access. This is fueled by the utilization of Intel’s latest high-performance infrastructure, including 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors with built-in AI acceleration and Dual-port 100Gb Intel Ethernet Network Adapter E810-2CQDA2 with Dynamic Device Personalization (DDP). Rakuten Mobile, Intel and NEC have collaborated on high-speed processing of containerized UPF, which plays a significant role in this initiative, and achieved a performance of 640 Gbps per server. High-speed processing in a containerized environment on Rakuten Mobile’s RCP enables instant and flexible deployment of UPF from edge to central locations based on traffic characteristics, leveraging RCP’s full automation features.

“Rakuten Mobile has successfully designed and built a fully containerized mobile network based on open standards,” commented Tareq Amin, Representative Director, Executive Vice President and CTO of Rakuten Mobile. “With NEC and Intel, we have demonstrated that extremely high-speed processing is possible on containers. We aim to continue to pursue performance improvements in the core to achieve higher throughput and reduce cost and energy consumption in the rollout of network technology in Japan and worldwide.”

“We’re proud that Rakuten Mobile, Intel and NEC were able to demonstrate industry-leading UPF performance,” commented NEC Executive Vice President Atsuo Kawamura. “NEC has been developing high-performance and highly reliable 5G systems by leveraging our vast experience that includes more than 25 years in mobile core networking. Our strong track record, technical capabilities and expertise in both network and computing domains, allowed us to bring high-quality 5G core to virtualization and cloud-native technology. NEC and Intel have a long-term relationship in the hardware business, including CPUs and NICs (Network Interface Cards), and have jointly enhanced the acceleration technology for virtualization, represented by the DPDK (Data Plane Development Kit). NEC performed significant optimization and improvements to pursue higher performance for the cloud-native UPF. In the future, we will continue to contribute to society through 5G in Japan and around the world leveraging the results of this project.”

“The fully virtualized Rakuten mobile network featuring NEC’s containerized 5G UPF software built on the latest Intel technology is another key proof point of how ecosystem collaboration and industry leading technology are both essential to fulfill the promise of 5G,” said Dan Rodriguez, corporate vice president and general manager of Intel’s Network Platforms Group. “The ongoing development and optimization work among the companies on the latest 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors and Intel Ethernet 800 Series network adapters not only provides outstanding performance, but the added flexibility to run workloads from core to edge that are designed to offer the best experience for end users.”

Rakuten Mobile and NEC started jointly developing an open, fully containerized SA 5G core network in June 2020 to be utilized in Rakuten Mobile’s mobile network in Japan and made available on RCP. In the RAN domain, NEC is also providing 5G radio units (5G RU) for Rakuten Mobile’s network in Japan, and recently, Rakuten Mobile and NEC announced the broadening of their collaboration to provide 5G and 4G radios and engineering services for Open RAN systems aligned with O-RAN specifications for global markets, and accelerate the global expansion of the RCP.

Through the joint development of the Open and fully cloud native containerized SA 5G core network, Rakuten Mobile and NEC aim to drive innovation in global mobile technology and provide high-quality 5G network technology to customers in Japan and around the world.

Aaron Herps steps up as General Manager of AVIA’s Coalition Against Piracy

The Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) has appointed Aaron Herps as the General Manager of its Coalition Against Piracy (CAP), following the departure of Neil Gane, who leaves AVIA to take up a position with the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment.

Herps joined AVIA in 2019 as the Operations Manager for CAP, working alongside Gane on all CAP initiatives from government outreach to criminal investigations and associated enforcement actions against syndicates and streaming website operators in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

In his role as General Manager of CAP, Herps will build on the strong legacy that he and Gane have built, maintaining the coalitions and alliances across the industry which have made CAP so effective and continuing to provide expert technical and forensic analysis of the shifting state of the piracy ecosystem to members and government officials.

“Aaron has been instrumental to the success of CAP over the last two years so it gives me great pleasure to see him now taking over the role of General Manager. The fight against piracy never remains static but Aaron has the creativity and skills to lead our industry’s efforts as both the threat and our response to it evolve. I am looking forward to the next chapter of CAP,” said Louis Boswell, CEO, AVIA.

Herps has over 15 years of content protection experience in the sports and entertainment industries across Asia Pacific. Prior to joining AVIA, Herps was Manager of Digital Content Protection for Asia Pacific at beIN Media Group and was the Senior Manager of Global Content Protection at the Motion Picture Association of America for more than a decade.

About the Asia Video Industry Association

The Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) is the trade association for the video industry and ecosystem in Asia Pacific. It serves to make the video industry stronger and healthier through promoting the common interests of its members. AVIA is the interlocutor for the industry with governments across the region, leads the fight against video piracy through its Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) and provides insight into the video industry through reports and conferences aimed to support a vibrant video industry.

For media enquiries and additional background please contact:
Charmaine Kwan
Head of Marketing and Communications
Email: charmaine@avia.org
Website: www.avia.org
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/asiavideoia
Twitter: @AsiaVideoIA

CITIC Telecom CPC won Datacloud Global Awards 2021

“The Innovation Award” recognized our Data Science Professionals’ innovation capability and our revolutionary DataHOUSET(TM) AR Remote Hand Service

CITIC Telecom International CPCLimited (CITIC Telecom CPC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CITIC Telecom International Holdings Limited (HKG:1883), is proud to announce the winning of The Innovation Award at the Datacloud Global Awards 2021.

Judges at Datacloud Global Awards 2021 mentioned that DataHOUSETM AR Remote Hand Service demonstrated exemplary creativity to leverage on a widely used Industry 4.0 Augmented Reality solution. By applying this to the data center industry, DataHOUSETM AR Remote Hand Service instantly resolved the challenges of travel restrictions and lockdowns, to enable remote hand personnel to be wherever in the world that they are needed. Datacloud Global Awards 2021 “The Innovation Award” celebrates outstanding achievements of those across the data centre, cloud and edge sectors, it aims to provide recognition to genuine inspiration, innovation and excellence.

“CITIC Telecom CPC is much honored to receive the Datacloud Global Awards 2021 for our DataHOUSETM AR Remote Hand Service. The award reaffirms our revolutionary and innovative services recognized by customers and the market; it is also a testament to our Data Science Professionals’ innovation capability,” said Mr. Esmond Li, CEO of CITIC Telecom CPC. “As data center evolves from on-premises facilities to edge deployments to cloud, there is an increase in the need for hyper-converged infrastructure and complex equipment. As such, the demand on-field engineers to support such a complex environment become higher. DataHOUSETM AR Remote Hand Service allows field engineers across multiple locations to come together, troubleshoot using live streaming of real-time images and this increases their productivity by more than 50%. We are pleased that this innovation won the recognition from the judges at Datacloud Global Awards.”

In line with our recent ICT-MiiND strategy, CITIC Telecom CPC deploys the latest container technology with advanced algorithms to perform a periodic cycles of data collection, experience learning and correlation, as well as algorithmic analysis and modeling. This will build a foundation for deep machine learning which will continuously drive advancement in Artificial Intelligence capability for diagnoses under the DataHOUSETM AR Remote Hand. “We hope with our ICT-MiiND strategy and development, we will be able to enhance and accelerate our customers’ digital transformation journey, as one of their trusted partners in premier connectivity, cloud services, information security and data centre services,” added Mr. Li.

Other than Datacloud Global Awards 2021, DataHOUSETM AR Remote Hand managed to clinch the “GOLD STEVIE Award” in the 2021 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards under the Innovation in Technology Development. The nomination further received the highest scoring among the other nominations in the China nation and won the “Grand Stevie Award” in the corresponding nation. “We are delighted that DataHOUSETM AR Remote Hand managed to win the recognition from industry practitioners in the global community,” concluded Mr. Li.

About the awards
Organized by BroadGroup, the information media technology and professional services company, Datacloud Global Awards recognise the team, products, innovations, initiatives and projects that demonstrate data centre, Edge, cloud innovation and service excellence. Judged by a panel of 26 industry experts, the Awards offer a chance to acknowledge the industry’s successes across 15 separate categories.

For more information about CITIC Telecom CPC’s awards and recognition, visit https://www.citictel-cpc.com/EN/HK/Pages/about-us-accreditation

About CITIC Telecom CPC
We are CITIC Telecom International CPC Limited (CITIC Telecom CPC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CITIC Telecom International Holdings Limited (HKG: 1883), serving multinational enterprises the world over by addressing their specific ICT requirements with highly scalable tailored solutions built upon our flagship technology suites, comprising TrueCONNECT(TM) private network solutions, TrustCSI(TM) information security solutions, DataHOUSE(TM) cloud data center solutions, and SmartCLOUD(TM) cloud computing solutions.

With the motto “Innovation Never Stops”, we leverage innovative technologies, embracing AI, AR, Big Data, IoT, and other cutting-edge emerging technologies to transform technical potential into business value for our customers. As enterprise digital transformation partner, we strive to help our customers achieving industry-leading position, high agility and cost-efficiency through digitalization.

Bringing with our Global-Local capabilities, we are committed to providing our customers with one-stop-shop ICT solutions with superior quality. Having a worldwide footprint across 160 countries, including Asia, Europe and America, Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, our global network resources connect over 160 points of presence (POPs), 18 Cloud service centers, 30+ data centers, and two dedicated 24×7 Security Operations Centers (SOCs). As one of the first managed service providers in Hong Kong to achieve multiple ICT-related certifications, including ISO 9001, 14001, 20000, 27001, and 27017, we have been offering professional local services, superior delivery capabilities as well as exceptional customer experience and best practices through our global presence and extensive industry know-how, becoming a leading integrated intelligent ICT service provider to enterprise customers.

For more information please visit www.citictel-cpc.com

Media Contact:
June Tay
CITIC Telecom International CPC Limited
(65) 6692 8357
Email: june.tay@citictel-cpc.com

The inaugural edition of World OTT Show by Trescon set to strengthen the inevitable future of video streaming in Asia

Having hosted some of the industry’s biggest tech conferences and high-level summits all over the world, Trescon is now venturing into the OTT space. World OTT Show will congregate renowned thought-leaders, subject matter experts, and technology innovators from Asia on 17 June 2021, in a constructive, open-dialogue, virtual environment.

More than 400 million people now use OTT video streaming services across the Asia Pacific region, with over 69 per cent of video viewers in the region watch streaming videos at least once a week.

“In 2021, the streaming providers in Asia have a massive opportunity to take their services to a global audience. Many of the conversations we have with some of the providers in this region are precisely about how we can scale their services offering beyond a regional play into a global one and I think we’ll start seeing a lot more of these regional Asian OTT services go global and build significant businesses for themselves outside their own borders,” said Paolo Cuttorelli, VP and GM at Evergent.

As many consumers are forced to stay confined in their homes and on their electronic devices due to the Covid-19, OTT consumption across Asia has witnessed a surge like never before. It has become one of the fastest-growing media channels in the region grabbing the advertiser’s attention.

“Southeast Asia’s video streaming market continues to experience massive growth and platform owners across verticals are placing huge investment bets. World OTT Show offers a platform to exchange varied perspectives between media, telecoms, and broadcast to explore this avenue of business in the new normal,” said Mithun Shetty, CEO of Trescon.

The conference is designed to explore the endless possibilities of OTT products that are streamlined to focus on user interfaces, user behavior; enhanced streaming and storage technologies, and generating revenue through streamlined subscriptions.

Some of the powerful voices in the industry to share their expertise on OTT Monetization, Content OTT planning, Audio OTT, CX for OTT, and much more, include:

– Andreas Von Maltzahn, Co-Founder, iwonder, Singapore
– Adam Ware, VP, and GM – National Networks and Platforms, Sinclair Broadcast Group/STIRR, US
– Zubin Jimmy Dubash, COO Digital Businesses, Shemaroo, India
– Siddhartha Roy, Chief Operating Officer, Hungama Digital Media, India
– Anna Ysabel F. Driz, Director of Advertising Sales and Brand Solutions, WeTV iflix, Philippines
– Dushyantt Kohli, Chief Operating Officer, Khabri Audio platform, India

The conference will be hosted on the virtual events platform Vmeets to help participants network and conduct business in an interactive and immersive virtual environment. Participants can also engage with speakers in Q&A sessions and network with solution providers in virtual exhibition booths, private consultation rooms, and private networking rooms.

World OTT Show is officially sponsored by Lead Sponsor – Setplex; Platinum Sponsor – Brightcove; Gold Sponsor – Evergent; Silver Sponsor – Limelight Networks; Bronze Sponsor – Smartlabs

To attend the show, register here: https://tresconglobal.com/conferences/ott/asia/free-pass-registration

About World OTT Show

World OTT Show is a thought-leadership driven, business-focused initiative that provides a platform for CxOs, OTT heads, and OTT directors among others, looking to explore the latest services and devices powered by OTT to transforms business functions.

The show is virtually hosting business leaders across industry sectors from ASIA who will meet, network, learn and engage with some of the world?s renowned technology thought-leaders, subject matter experts, and technology innovators in a constructive, open-dialogue environment.

For further details about the announcement, please contact:
Aishwarya G Bhandary
Corporate Communications Executive
marketing@tresconglobal.com

Positivity reigns among the Filipino video industry’s top leaders at AVIA’s Philippines In View

The Asia Video Industry Association‘s (AVIA) Philippines In View seminar held on 18th May brought together more than 700 industry delegates to discuss the state of the TV and video industry in the archipelago country with over 7000 islands. Some of the industry luminaries present include Manuel V Pangilinan, Chairman, President and CEO of PLDT, Ernest Cu, President & CEO of Globe and Dennis Anthony Uy, Founder & CEO of Converge ICT Solutions.

The seminar opened with a discussion on Policy and Regulations for the 21st Century in the Philippines with Arnold “ALI” I. Atienza, Undersecretary, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) for Government Digital Broadcast Television and the Digitalization of the Entertainment Industry Sector, Emerging Technologies, Senior Citizens, Persons with Disabilities and Special Needs Sector. Undersecretary Atienza reiterated that the impact of TV could not be overemphasised, being a source of business, shopping, spiritual fulfilment, medical and legal information, among many others, for the average Filipino. While it needs to be regulated without affecting freedom of speech and expression, challenges remain regulating it across the different platforms. Hence the DICT welcomed industry and the private sector, to work closely with the DICT for help and support.

In a country that has been buffeted by major changes in the media industry over the last year, TV continued to remain resilient. According to Leo Jaymar G. Uy, Head of Research, BusinessWorld, despite total tv ad spend shrinking by a slight 4% year on year, digital video ad spend actually rose by 4.8%. And even though viewership has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels, it is showing signs of recovery. Pay TV subscriptions have also increased and the roll-out of digital terrestrial television (DTT) continues to progress. Online is certainly one of the beneficiaries of growth as well, with OTT adoption expected to continue rising even after the effects of the pandemic. Constraints on internet speed and infrastructure also suggests there is still room for growth in this segment, and with the country’s relatively low internet penetration rate, Pay TV can still coexist with OTT.

Robert P. Galang, President and CEO, Cignal TV and TV5, shared these sentiments as well. Galang expects growth for both Free and Pay TV in the next 5 years, as well as with DTT. Even though TV5’s bread and butter will still be subscriptions on DTH, it is also seeing growth in OTT and ad revenue for TV5. While continued consolidation will have an impact on Pay TV, Galang still believes it is a strong proposition and the move to digital will provide an even bigger market for Pay TV.

Indeed, the growth in OTT has made Philippines the most attractive market for OTT advertisers in Southeast Asia, with the highest advertising attractiveness index, according to a recent report by The TradeDesk and Kantar. Marilyn See, SVP and Head for Digital Publishing and Digital Advertising, GMA New Media, also said that spend on YouTube has been moving to OTT inventory, and it was a matter of time before OTT revenues can outpace TV ad spend.

This move to digital has been a large part of Globe’s transformation through the decades. In the keynote conversation with Ernest Cu, President & CEO of Globe, Cu shared that it was part of Globe’s purpose to make people’s lives better and solve everyday problems in a digital way. “It is a journey we have embarked on for many years, it’s just part of what we do now, as part of our DNA at Globe,” said Cu. And while streaming now dominates the entertainment landscape, the pandemic also brought about dramatic changes in consumer habits and a need for new lines of services, from remote health services to online grocery shopping, paving the way for a huge leap in ecommerce and making GCash the largest e-wallet service in the Philippines today. “We live by the adage, if we don’t disrupt ourselves, somebody else will… the other alternative is to go away and be obsolete,” summed up Cu.

Philippines In View is generously supported by Gold Sponsor Globe and Silver Sponsors Brightcove, TV5MONDE, Cignal, PLDT, Smart.

New survey shows Vietnam among highest in online piracy in Southeast Asia

A new study of the online content viewing behaviour of Vietnamese consumers has found that 60% access streaming piracy websites or torrent sites. The levels of piracy went as high as 65% within the 18-24 age demographic. The survey, commissioned by the Asia Video Industry Association‘s Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) and conducted by YouGov, found that 59% of consumers who accessed piracy sites cancelled their subscriptions to both local and international content services.

The levels of piracy in Vietnam now dwarfs neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia, which have both seen substantial reductions in online piracy in the last 18 months. In Indonesia, a similar YouGov survey found a massive 55% reduction in Indonesian consumers accessing piracy services with 28% of consumers admitting to accessing piracy websites in 2020, compared to 63% in 2019. In Malaysia, a YouGov survey found a 64% decline in users accessing piracy sites in 2020 when compared to a similar YouGov survey in 2019. In both countries a key variable for the decline in online piracy levels was the government’s proactive piracy site blocking initiative.

The recent YouGov survey suggests that a regulatory site blocking mechanism would be supported by the majority of Vietnamese consumers. When given choices of what they thought were effective measures of reducing piracy behaviour, 48% of Vietnamese agree that a “government order or law for ISPs to block piracy websites” would be the most effective.

The damage that digital content theft does to the Vietnamese creative industries is without dispute. However, the damage done to Vietnamese consumers because of the nexus between online piracy and malware, also needs to be better understood and actioned by government and stakeholders. When asked by YouGov about the negative consequences of online piracy, Vietnamese consumers placed funding crime groups (58%) , malware risks (55%) and loss of jobs in the creative industry (49%) as their top three concerns. The malware risk was corroborated in a March 2021 study by UK-based White Bullet, which also found that 72% of popular piracy sites in Vietnam contain high risk advertising such as illegal gambling ads and fraud/malware ads. The study tracked advertising on over 800 popular piracy websites in Vietnam for a three-week period.

Of those Vietnamese consumers who admit to accessing streaming piracy websites or torrent sites, 35% said they would stop this behaviour should the government take deterrent action.

Neil Gane, the General Manager of AVIA’s Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) commented, “The wide variety of legal services in Vietnam which provide premium entertainment content are reliable and importantly are legal. The piracy alternatives fund crime groups, put consumers at risk of malware infection and are unreliable. Piracy only benefits the criminal organisations who are behind these illegal websites.

Thomas Jayet, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Digital Satellite Television Company LTD (K+) commented, “In addition to sport content, K+ invests a huge budget in local movies, latest TV series, and Vietnamese box office titles to broadcast on our platforms. Such premium content gives audiences a better choice of quality and safe entertainment at home, as well as contributing to the sustainability of the local economy especially during the current Covid pandemic.

In order to protect this content, K+ applies diverse countermeasures ranging from technical anti-piracy measures. A critical anti-piracy strategy that has proven to be successful in Indonesia, Malaysia and other APAC jurisdictions, is site blocking. Based on an analysis of Vietnamese law, ISPs would seem to have an obligation to block their users from accessing piracy websites, but only upon an order from the competent authorities. What is required is legal clarity and government mandated procedures for rights holders to refer site blocking requests to government.”

Phan Vu Tuan, Director of Phan Law Vietnam commented, “Piracy websites typically have a click-happy user base, and are being used more and more as clickbait to distribute malware. Unfortunately, the appetite for free content hides users from the very real risks of malware infection. The type of malware embedded within piracy websites can include particularly harmful malware such as remote access trojans which allows the hacker to activate and record from the device’s webcam without the victim being aware.”

YouGov is an international research and data analytics group. For further information visit https://hk.yougov.com. Study conducted in March 2021. All data is weighted to be representative of the online population. Sample size: Vietnam n=1,057

About the Asia Video Industry Association

The Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) is the trade association for the video industry and ecosystem in Asia Pacific. It serves to make the video industry stronger and healthier through promoting the common interests of its members. AVIA is the interlocutor for the industry with governments across the region, leads the fight against video piracy through its Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) programme and provides insight into the industry through reports and conferences aimed to support a vibrant video industry.

Contact AVIA
For media contacts and additional background:
Charmaine Kwan
Head of Marketing and Communications
Email: charmaine@avia.org
Website: www.avia.org
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/asiavideoia
Twitter: @AsiaVideoIA

CITIC Telecom CPC’s DataHOUSE AR Remote Hand wins Augmented & Virtual Reality Award for Telecommunications at SBR TEA 2021

DataHOUSE™ AR Remote Hand leverages wearable AR technology to transform field engineers’ operations and maintenance processes.

CITIC Telecom International CPC Limited (CITIC Telecom CPC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CITIC Telecom International Holdings Limited (SEHK: 1883), is honored to announce that its innovative product, DataHOUSE™ AR Remote Hand, bagged the Augmented & Virtual Reality – Telecommunications Award during Singapore Business Review’s (SBR) recently concluded Technology Excellence Awards (TEA).

DataHOUSE™ AR Remote Hand is a highly practical, productive, and effective tool for field engineers that allows them to do virtual collaborations with offsite members whilst streaming data in real-time. The technology employs AR glasses to allow field engineers to conveniently retrieve encrypted backend data from backend systems, so that they can conduct maintenance, troubleshooting, and field operations speedily. With virtual access to equipment history or status, service manuals, complicated technical procedures, troubleshooting logs, and graphics via a designated QR code for each device, they can utilise hand gestures to review a device’s historical record to speed up analysis and troubleshooting, minimising downtime and costs whilst boosting field engineer productivity by up to 50%.

Traditionally, field engineers communicated with back-end support using email or phone. This makes it challenging to describe a troubleshooting situation. The AR Remote Hand solves this problem by allowing back-end engineers to view real-time images streamed via AR glasses through an AR operations console. Its powerful video conferencing feature also offers engineers instant support and fosters off-site collaboration between global operations and maintenance teams. It also overcomes the challenges of time zone, languages, distance barriers, and professional skill sets in multi-technology environments.

On the customer side, the current pandemic has made it difficult for enterprises’ IT staff to travel to data centres and manage their equipment. Through its AR glasses, CITIC Telecom CPC’s DataHOUSE AR Remote Hand can serve as the customers’ remote hands. Not only does it show the status of on-site equipment as customers watch in real-time from offices or other locations through the AR operations console, but it also lets customers provide live instructions to CITIC Telecom CPC’s on-site engineers as they troubleshoot equipment issues without customers being physically in the data centre.

AR Remote Hand solution is the brainchild of CITIC Telecom CPC’s professional teams of data scientists and research and development experts. Combining their knowledge with experts from the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI), which was founded by the Hong Kong government to enhance the city’s competitiveness in technology-based industries through applied research, this collaboration has been very successful in creating a groundbreaking technology to revolutionize management and maintenance in data center scenarios.

CITIC Telecom CPC is now building additional enhancements in the new version of AR Remote Hand by expanding its range of supported vendor equipment and adding on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to extend more service coverage. As one of the trusted partners of leading multinational and business enterprises in the Asia-Pacific region, it maintains its integrity as the premier connectivity, cloud services, information security, and data centre provider in the world.

The Technology Excellence Awards was presented by Singapore Business Review via video conferencing throughout the second and third week of April. This year’s nominations were judged by of Daryl Pereira, Head of Cyber at KPMG; Cheang Wai Keat, Partner, Consultant at Ernst & Young Advisory Pte. Ltd.; Henry Tan, Group Chief Executive Officer and Chief Innovation Officer at Nexia TS; Sivakumar Saravan, Senior Partner at Crowe Singapore; Cecil Su, Director, Head of Cybersecurity of BDO Singapore.

About CITIC Telecom CPC
We are CITIC Telecom International CPC Limited (CITIC Telecom CPC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CITIC Telecom International Holdings Limited (SEHK: 1883), serving multinational enterprises the world over by addressing their ICT requirements with integrated digitalisation solutions built upon our flagship technology suites, comprising TrueCONNECT™ private network solutions, TrustCSI™ information security solutions, DataHOUSE™ cloud data center solutions, and SmartCLOUD™ cloud computing solutions.

With the motto “Innovation Never Stops”, we leverage innovative technologies, embracing AI, AR, Big Data, IoT, and other cutting-edge emerging technologies to transform technical potential into business value for our customers. As enterprises digital transformation partner, we strive to help our customers achieving industry-leading position, high agility and cost-efficiency through digitalisation.

Bringing with our Global-Local capabilities, we are committed to providing our customers with one-stop-shop ICT solutions with superior quality. Having a worldwide footprint across 160 countries, including Asia, Europe and America, Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, our global network resources connect over 160 points of presence (POPs), 18 Cloud service centers, 30+ data centers, and two dedicated 24×7 Security Operations Centers (SOCs). As one of the first managed service providers in Hong Kong to achieve multiple ICT-related certifications, including ISO 9001, 14001, 20000, 27001, and 27017, we have been offering professional local services, superior delivery capabilities as well as exceptional customer experience and best practices through our global presence and extensive industry know-how, becoming a leading integrated intelligent ICT service provider to enterprise customers. For more information please visit www.citictel-cpc.com.

About Singapore Business Review
The SBR Technology Excellence Awards is organised by Singapore Business Review (SBR.com.sg), the definitive magazine for Singapore’s business elite. Not only has it built its reputation and credibility as a publication, but it has also become a recognised symbol of excellence for multinational companies with offices in Singapore. Since then, SBR continuously strives to provide a platform where companies can showcase and celebrate their growth and success.

Media Contact:
June Tay
CITIC Telecom International CPC Limited
+65 6692 8357
Email: june.tay@citictel-cpc.com

AVIA appoints Celeste Campbell-Pitt as its new Chief Policy Officer for the region

The Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) has appointed a new Chief Policy Officer to be based in its Singapore office, a first for the role.

Celeste Campbell-Pitt joins AVIA on Monday 3rd May, initially joining Chief Policy Officer John Medeiros, who will be retiring after a transition period. Medeiros, who is based in Hong Kong, and joined the Association then known as CASBAA, in 2005 as Vice President of Government Relations and Regulatory Affairs, has been Chief Policy Officer since 2013.

A key focus of AVIA is to represent the combined positions of its members and engage in constructive dialogue with governments so they may better understand the curated video industry and foster an environment of support for the growth of the industry. The Chief Policy Officer spearheads this goal, developing and executing policy initiatives relevant to the video industry, in consultation with and on behalf of AVIA member companies.

The role of the Chief Policy Officer has evolved over the years and has become a lot more critical as regulatory policies continue to develop alongside the sweeping changes the video industry has seen in recent years.

“This role is absolutely critical for AVIA and we have taken a long time to find the right person. While taking over from John who has made the role his own will be no easy task, I am delighted that we have found Celeste who has such a passion for the industry and a clear vision for how to build and develop the role,” said Louis Boswell, CEO, AVIA.

Campbell-Pitt comes with over twenty years of business and legal experience in the media and entertainment industry across both Europe and Asia. Prior to joining AVIA, she was consulting with various global media and technology companies as well as private equity firms who were looking to expand into the Asia Pacific region. Campbell-Pitt was previously the Vice President and Head of Business Development and Advertising Sales at Discovery Networks Asia Pacific, after her stint at Endemol Shine Asia Group as the Director and Head of Commercial and Operations. She has also held Senior Legal Counsel positions in international media companies including Star, Turner and Channel Four in the UK.

About the Asia Video Industry Association
The Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) is the trade association for the video industry and ecosystem in Asia Pacific. It serves to make the video industry stronger and healthier through promoting the common interests of its members. AVIA is the interlocutor for the industry with governments across the region, leads the fight against video piracy through its Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) and provides insight into the video industry through reports and conferences aimed to support a vibrant video industry.

For media enquiries and additional background please contact:
Charmaine Kwan
Head of Marketing and Communications
Email: charmaine@avia.org
Website: www.avia.org
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/asiavideoia
Twitter: @AsiaVideoIA

AVIA OTT Summit 2021 – The Future of Video Streaming is Here!

With the streaming wars well underway and more competition than ever, consumers are streaming more and spending more, with greater churn than we’ve ever seen before.

The Asia Video Industry Association’s (AVIA) OTT Summit – The Future of Video Streaming welcomed 900 delegates and featured over 80 industry experts and leaders across the four-day conference this year.

Opening the OTT Summit was the streaming analyst Matthew Ball, Managing Partner of Epyllion Industries, who presented a deep dive into the OTT industry in the United states, being the most mature, most competitive, and most valuable video market with the most consumptive media consumers in the world.

In his session he highlighted that new subscriptions continued to dramatically outpace churn and content was clearly the key differentiator. And while content was king when it came to subscriber acquisitions, as a market matures it exhibits an unmistakeable preference for local content, as seen across the likes of China, India, Russia and France. “The OTT video industry is ultimately about content and the ability to create hit content is not equal,” added Ball. Another key point was the fact that aggregation was already here with services such as Apple and Amazon TV.

This aggregation has led to a change in the way platforms operate today. For Euan Smith, Group COO and CEO, TV, Astro, their role as a platform was finding the best content and packaging it up into attractive bundles for the consumers in the most simplistic and attractive ways. Emily Wee, VP of Content & Operations at TM Net, also shared platforms were no longer the gatekeepers, as there were many ways for the consumers to subscribe now. “For the consumer… there has to be real value that we as the middleman put into the equation.”

Putting the consumer at the heart of everything remained a key theme throughout the Summit, especially when it came to content strategy. For Kranti Gada, COO of Shemaroo Entertainment, their strategy was two-fold, with differing content to acquire consumers, and to keep them on the platform, as content challenges to fulfil consumer needs remained. As Lynn Ng, VP and Head of Content, APAC at Discovery Inc. summed up, “Ultimately, it comes down to consumer love.”

However, addressing and monetizing these consumers remains the big question for premium video advertising. While OTT and Connected TV have grown exponentially both in volume and share, there is still a lot of education to be done as there is a lot more diverse ecosystem in TV now. Shared Anita Munro, Chief Investment Officer at Mindshare APAC, understanding consumption, understanding audiences and knowing where viewing is moving to is key to creating more seamless consumer journeys and more immersive content experiences.

Rounding up the Summit, the technology panels also shared customer experience as the next frontier for innovation. For Raul Aldrey, Chief Product Officer at MediaKind, live sports presented the opportunity for hyper personalized experiences where fans could dictate how they wanted to interact with the content. Pankaj Kedia, MD, Emerging Markets, Dolby Laboratories, also saw a lot of opportunity for both content creators and service providers to uplevel their game, for higher engagement, consumption and monetisation. As Sunita Kaur, SVP, APAC, Twitch concluded, “Customer experience… is what is going to drive our future.”

The OTT Summit is generously supported by Gold Sponsors Brightcove, Google, Irdeto, TV5MONDE, Xandr and Silver Sponsors Alibaba Cloud, Encoding.com, iWedia, Kaltura, Lionsgate, Mediacorp, MediaKind, NETFLIX, PubMatic, SmartLabs, Synamedia, Vindicia, WarnerMedia, Zixi.

About the Asia Video Industry Association
The Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) is the trade association for the video industry and ecosystem in Asia Pacific. It serves to make the video industry stronger and healthier through promoting the common interests of its members. AVIA is the interlocutor for the industry with governments across the region, leads the fight against video piracy and provides insight into the video industry through reports and conferences aimed to support a vibrant video industry.

For media enquiries and additional background please contact:
Charmaine Kwan
Head of Marketing and Communications
Email: charmaine@avia.org
Website: www.avia.org
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/asiavideoia
Twitter: @AsiaVideoIA

CITIC Telecom Announces 2020 Annual Results

Reports stability and progress in overall performance with continuous growth in profit
Profit attributable to equity shareholders reaches HK$1,023 million
Total dividends per share rises by 5.0% yoy to HK21.0 cents

(from left to right): Mr. Esmond LI, Chief Financial Officer, Mr. XIN Yue Jiang, Chairman and Mr. CAI Dawei, Chief Executive Officer

CITIC Telecom International Holdings Limited (HKG:1883), a leading international integrated telecommunications and information and communications technologies services provider in Asia, reported profit attributable to equity shareholders of HK$1,023 million for the year ended 31 December 2020, representing a year-on-year increase of 2.1%, or a 4.4% increase if the effect of investment property valuation is excluded.

The Group generated revenue from telecommunications services of HK$7,978 million, representing an approximate 7.9% growth over the corresponding period in the previous year. The Group’s total revenue amounted to HK$8,923 million. Basic earnings per share was up 1.5% year-on-year to HK27.9 cents.

The Board has recommended a final dividend of HK16.0 cents per share for 2020. Together with the 2020 interim dividend of HK5.0 cents per share, total dividends per share for 2020 amounted to HK21.0 cents, representing 5.0% growth over the corresponding period in the previous year.

Mr. XIN Yue Jiang, Chairman of CITIC Telecom, said, “The year 2020 has been undoubtedly marked by great challenges, during which the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 devastated economies across the globe, and its unprecedented impact has brought grave difficulties to business operations. Amidst the difficult situation and under the management’s leadership, our staff advanced qualitative corporate development in the persistent implementation of the new philosophy for development, while addressing the risks and challenges in a composed and robust manner. The Group was engaged in efforts to continuously improve its service quality and drive up scientific research and new product development, while protecting the health of all of its employees and maintaining the stable operation of our telecommunications network platform, as well as ensuring the uninterrupted provision of our services. The Group reported stability and progress in its overall operations with continuous growth in profit.”

The Group has maintained a healthy financial position and a strong cash flow. As at 31 December 2020, the Group recorded cash and bank deposits of approximately HK$1,519 million, which was sufficient to meet its financial obligations and contractual capital commitments in the coming 12 months.

Business Highlights
Enterprise solutions enhanced its market development with better SD-WAN coverage. The Group’s enterprise solutions in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Southeast Asia has achieved sound development. Revenue from enterprise solutions rose by 4.5% year-on-year to HK$3,227 million. The Group continued to deploy PoPs around the world to expand the coverage of the network. The private networks services have expanded to around 150 PoPs in over 130 countries. The Group also continued to keep up with the market and technology development trends, enhanced the level of network intelligence, and expanded the service area with better SD-WAN (software-defined wide-area network) coverage. During the year, the Group’s global SD-WAN gateways have increased to 45.

Rising broadband users boosted revenue from internet business. The Group greatly developed the fibre broadband service in Macau, the number of broadband users grew by approximately 1.7% from the corresponding period in the previous year to over 196,200 users, resulting in an increase in revenue from fibre broadband services. Revenue from internet services amounted to HK$1,123 million for the year, representing a year-on-year increase of 5.4%. In addition, the construction of CITIC Telecom Tower Data Centre Phase III (B) progressed smoothly in 2020 and completion and commissioning are scheduled in June 2021.

Companhia de Telecomunicacoes de Macau, S.A.R.L. (“CTM”) completed construction of 5G networks in Macau that will contribute to Macau’s smart city development. The Group maintained its leading position in Macau with approximately 44.4% market share of Macau’s mobile market and around 45.8% market share in the 4G subscribers of Macau’s mobile market as at 31 December 2020. However, revenue from mobile services has fallen by 23.0% to HK$957 million compared to the previous year mainly as a result of various lockdown measures ordered by many governments in different countries around the world during the year and this has adversely impacted the Group’s revenue from roaming-related services. During the year, the Group overcame difficulties brought about by the pandemic with the use of united efforts and it advanced the construction of the 5G network which was in full swing. Preparation work for the deployment of the 5G SA network was completed at the end of 2020. The Group is working towards providing full coverage of Macau with the 5G SA network by June 2021 and will strive for the commercial launch as soon as possible.

Embark on business innovation, seize market opportunities, International telecommunications services grew rapidly. Revenue from international telecommunications services increased by 39.8% year-on-year to HK$2,481 million. The Group continued to seize new business market opportunities that came about from the increasing demand in corporate messaging based engagement with customers, revenue from messaging services increased by 86.6% to HK$1,258 million from last year. The Group closely followed market changes, consolidated the scale of its international voice services, and recorded revenue growth in voice services.

Development Strategies
Looking ahead in 2021, the world’s economy will continue to be subjected to the adverse impacts of the epidemic and other developments. Prospects for economic recovery are less than certain, and this will exert certain pressure on the Group’s business development. However, the development and application from a global perspective of information technologies relating to the internet, Internet of Things, 5G, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Big Data and others, will continue dominating the scene and offering abundant business opportunities. Pivoting to the latest trends, the Group will enhance technological innovations and new product R&D to advance business development.

The Group will continue to pivot towards the mobile services business and the internet business as the main direction of its development as it seeks further growth in the scale and revenue contribution of the mobile services business, further increase its market share of enterprise services, as well as further consolidate the leading position of its products. Robust measures will be adopted in a bid to sustain the stable development of its current businesses, while its international services will undergo strategic transformation into mobile and internet-based operations to cement its position in the mobile market and further enhance our development standards as an integrated internet-based telecommunications enterprise.

CTM will facilitate its 5G network construction and business development as it anticipates for 5G commercial launch in 2021. The Group will continue to actively participate in Macau’s development as a smart city, as it strives to become a prime operator in a smart city and to ensure the provision of superior experience in integrated information services to customers.

The Group will continue to organise construction work with meticulous care as it proceeds to complete CITIC Telecom Tower Data Centre Phase III (B) in a move to bolster the Group’s data centre business. It will also plan for the development of other floors in the building as it closely tracks market demands.

In the meantime, the Group will seize the major opportunity for development presented by China’s new macro-economic landscape of enhanced internal circulation and dual domestic and international circulation, with a special focus on driving cooperation with advanced technology partners and carrier partners to provide information and communication technology (ICT) services to foreign companies looking to establish their presence in China, especially members of the Global 500, offering assistance in their digital transformation.

The Group will execute plans for the development of the Southeast Asian Company, which include stronger efforts in brand building and the expansion of service categories and business scope, as it strives to develop itself into a one-stop ICT service provider in Southeast Asia to generate a new driving force for the Group’s business growth. With the official signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) of Southeast Asia, the region is expected to attract further investments from multinational corporations and global pioneers in technology, presenting new opportunities and driving force for our business growth.

Mr. CAI Dawei, Chief Executive Officer of CITIC Telecom, said, “In 2021, the Group will continue driving scientific and technological innovation, and promote the internet-oriented, intelligent and digital transformation of enterprises, persist in its development strategy of expansion and coverage of the international market from its foundation in the Mainland China market, taking Hong Kong and Macau as the base and connection, grasp 5G business development opportunities, greatly expand the integrated information services, resolutely implement new development philosophy and strive for further achievements on the way forward.”