Uber partners with PLDT to offer free Wi-Fi
Uber has teamed up with PLDT in the Philippines to provide free Wi-Fi for the taxi-hailing app company’s premium vehicles in Manila.

Uber signed a multi-year agreement with PLDT, the country’s largest operator, to use its Smart network to offer in-car Wi-Fi, initially in Uber’s black, or premium, vehicles and to all its cars in the coming months.

Smart is offering customers in Manila, who are first-time users of the Uber app, two free rides worth up to PHP300 ($6.40) each until the end of the month.

The app will also be pre-installed on all smartphones for Smart’s postpaid customers.

Uber is partnering with Bharti Airtel in India in a similar deal.

LG Uplus, Qualcomm support Korean IoT startups
South Korea’s third largest mobile operator LG Uplus and US chipmaker Qualcomm are supporting local startups focused on Internet of Things (IoT) initiatives with up to $100,000 in funding per project.

The companies said they aim to help startups, which will be selected from the operator’s innovation centre, develop IoT-related products and services as well as commercialise them.

LG Uplus partnered with Qualcomm last year to help a South Korean startup, ARworks, develop an LTE-powered drone.

SoftBank selects Oberthur as M2M partner
Japan’s SoftBank selected Oberthur Technologies as its supplier of M2M SIM cards for all types of connected devices.

SoftBank’s partnership with Oberthur will enable it to develop projects with OEMs for vertical markets such as the automotive, industrial devices, robotics, smart metering, vending machines and gaming industries.

Pierre Barrial, managing Director of Oberthur’s mobile network operators business, said its DIM portfolio and experience with operators and OEMs will enable SoftBank to build connected-device solutions meeting the highest standards of privacy and security to serve expanding M2M needs.

Axiata develops open source API platform
Malaysia’s Axiata has set up a joint venture with software company WSO2 to launch an API platform for operators to cost-effectively develop digital services.

The new open source API platform — WSO2.Telco — is designed to enable mobile operators to accelerate their digital transformation by creating internet partnerships and expanding their digital engagement with customers.

The platform, the result of 18 months of collaboration between Axiata Digital Services and WSO2, already powers five of Axiata’s operating companies connected to its API hub. The platform allows companies to scale up their enterprise offerings by letting them expose, manage and orchestrate multiple network services at a fraction of the cost of legacy systems, Axiata said in a statement.

Ericsson, Sony, SKT test wearables over LTE
Ericsson, Sony Mobile and SK Telecom tested a variety of Internet of Things (IoT) devices in an LTE environment and found the network supports the ubiquitous and secure uplink and downlink connections that the devices require.

The tests, conducted at Ericsson’s radio labs in Kista, Sweden, looked at the key functionalities of LTE device Category 0 and Category M (Machine Type Communication). Field trials are planned on SK Telecom’s network in South Korea later this year.

IoT wearables are miniaturised, low-cost, low-power devices with diverse network and device performance requirements.

SK Telecom demos advanced cryptography in DC
South Korea’s largest mobile operator SK Telecom (SKT) demonstrated two core quantum cryptographic technologies to a group of government officials in Washington, DC.

Governments around the world are actively promoting the development of strong cryptographic algorithms to protect national security and create a safer and more secure communications environment. The US recently announced plans to transition to quantum algorithms, which drew its attention to SKT’s work on advanced quantum cryptography.

SKT also signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Transportation Innovation Centre to collaborate for the development of quantum cryptography technologies.