Motorola, Ericsson join S.Asia s mobile alliance

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Motorola Inc. and Ericsson have joined South Asia s mobile alliance, a move that may help position then growth in the region, the firms and head of the alliance said on Wednesday.

The size of their investment in the alliance, which serves 69 million customers in eight countries, has not been determined and the joint venture was also in talks with telecom firms in Japan, Thailand to broaden its reach, said Patrick Sim, the alliance s chief executive.

Bridge Mobile Alliance groups Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. s mobile operator, its Australian unit, India s Bharti Group, Globe Telecom Inc. in the Philippines and Indonesia s PT Telkomsel.

Taiwan Mobile, Maxis Communications Bhd of Malaysia and Hong Kong s CSL Ltd. also are members of the venture that since June has allowed roaming customers to top-up their pre-paid cards in other regional markets.

"With this partnership, we look forward to strengthening our relationship with the alliance members and playing a pivotal role in providing quality handsets with leading solutions in these markets," said Alan Nicklos, general manager of Motorola Southeast Asia, in a joint statement.

Bringing Motorola, the world s second-biggest mobile phone maker, and Ericsson into alliance was also aimed at developing and standardising technologies.

China s second-largest telecom equipment maker, ZTE Corp., also participated in the joint venture.
The involvement of the three technology companies would not lead to a shareholding in the alliance that is owned by the telecom member companies, Sim added.

The alliance has set its initial spending at $30 million-$40 million over three years to build regional mobile infrastructure and a common service platform for a potential subscriber base of more than 300 million users.

Sim also said that the alliance has been negotiating with Thailand s Advanced Info Service Plc. to make it a potential member. The alliance is also talking with South Korea s top wireless carrier, SK Telecom Co. and a number of unidentified Japanese telecom firms to expand their subscriber base.

He expected strong subscriber growth in India, Indonesia and the Philippines due to mobile phone penetration.