Conexus May Adopt HTC's Smartphones

Taipei, Sept. 23, 2008 (CENS)--Members of Conexus Mobile Alliance, an alliance of 10 Asian telecom companies, may jointly procure smartphones from Taiwan-based High Tech Computer Corp. (HTC), a world-caliber supplier of the products, according to industry sources.

Members of Conexus includes NTT DoCoMo of Japan, StarHub of Singapore, KT Freetel of Korea, Hutchison Telecom of Hong Kong, SMART of the Philippines, PT Indosat Tbk of Indonesia, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. of India, TrueMove of Thailand and Far EasTone Telecommunications Co. of Taiwan. The 10 telecom companies now have a total of about 200 million registered users in Asia, and their move to jointly procure smartphones will undoubtedly bring a huge business opportunity to the sector.

Chan Kin-hung, chairman of Conexus, said that the alliance's members recently decided to buy high-end mobile phones for business use, which must incorporate functions of sending and receiving emails and application services. They have been seeking proper phones and HTC's high-profile smartphones are highly recommended by Far EasTone.

Chan added that Conexus now is trying to invite Chinese telecom service providers to join it, in a bid to further penetrate the country's telecom service market. Besides, the alliance is also planning to tap emerging markets such as Vietnam, focusing on the segment of 3G and GSM (Global System for Mobile) telecom services.

On the other hand, the number of mobile network users in Taiwan reached 12.46 million in the first quarter of this year, growing by 5.1% from a quarter earlier, according to statistics compiled by Taiwan's NCC (National Communications Commission). With 3G service gaining popularity on the island, the number is expected to keep trending upward quarter by quarter.