Bridge Alliance names SingTel exec CEO
Operator group Bridge Alliance has appointed Eileen Tan, a 15-year SingTel veteran, as its new CEO, effective 1 September.

Tan was most recently director of business planning, strategy and alliance partnerships at SingTel. She will take over from Alessandro Adriani, whose leadership saw Bridge Alliance expand from 11 to 36 operator members over the past three years.

Tan will be responsible for strengthening the alliance’s business regionally and globally as demand for M2M, enterprise mobility and cost-effective roaming services increases, it said in a statement. The group aims to allow members “to leverage the collective strengths of the alliance to develop and launch innovative roaming and enterprise solutions.”

Smartphone shipments fall again in China
Smartphone shipments in China fell 10 per cent in Q2 from a year earlier, following a 14 per cent year-on-year decline in Q1.

But strong demand for high-end smartphones (priced at $500 and over) pushed smartphone sales revenue up 17 per cent year-on-year to $26.8 billion in the quarter, according to GfK. The high-end smartphone market now accounts for 17 per cent of the market, up from 10 per cent a year ago.

GfK forecasts high-end unit demand in China to grow 28 per cent this year, the strongest growth of any region.

Ericsson, SK Holdings C&C enter ICT partnership
Ericsson and SK Holdings C&C have agreed to partner to develop Internet of Things (IoT) platforms, emerging ICT services and convergence security solutions.

Under the terms of the deal, the two firms will set up a joint taskforce to develop business strategies that build on Ericsson’s network capabilities.

They aim to develop specialised IoT platforms for industry sectors, including healthcare and transportation, and explore opportunities relating to emerging ICT services such as global disaster recovery and IoT authentication in Asia Pacific.

Seoul-base SK Holdings C&C is an IT services provider that was established in 1991.

Dialog unit forms JV to set up e-health platform
Digital Holdings Lanka, a subsidiary of mobile market leader Dialog Axiata, has formed a joint venture with Asiri Hospital to develop an e-commerce platform for Sri Lanka’s healthcare sector.

The new venture, Digital Health, is 70 per cent owned by Digital Holdings and 30 per cent owned by Asiri Hospital, the country’s Daily Mirror publication reported.

Tata Docomo offers customisable plans
India’s Tata Docomo has introduced a customisable prepaid plan for INR201 ($3.10) that allows customers to design packages based on their unique usage patterns.

Available at its retail shops, the plan offers benefits such as free voice minutes and data as well as reduced local and STD calls when users top up their plans.