Japanese market for managed network and IP services will yield revenues of US$28 million for SingTel by 2004

Tokyo, 7 December 2001 - Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel), Asia’s leading communications company, will leverage on the size and scale of its regional operations to offer corporate users in Japan a one-stop convenience for their telecommunications needs. SingTel announced today that it will invest US$9 million to provide EXPAN, a suite of Managed Hosting Services, to international companies in Japan which have presence in Asia Pacific and to Internet and application service providers for content delivery into Asia.

EXPAN services include systems administration and maintenance, security services, data storage and administration, performance monitoring and fault management, problem resolution and technical support. EXPAN will enable multinationals, application service providers and those in Internet-related businesses in Japan and the region, to outsource their entire communications networks and web-hosting needs to SingTel.

In Japan, EXPAN will be provided from data centres in Tokyo and Osaka. Customers who have cross border needs will be supported by SingTel’s data centres in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, South Korea and Taiwan. SingTel will also offer hosting services in Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, China and India by 2002. SingTel expects to invest about US$280 million over three years to provide these services across Asia.

Mr Lee Hsien Yang, SingTel’s President and CEO, who is in Tokyo for the launch of EXPAN, said demand for telecommunications, particularly data and Internet related services in the Asia Pacific remains strong despite the current global economic downturn. SingTel Japan expects to earn revenues of US$28 million from the provision of managed hosting and IP related services in Japan by 2004.

Unlike other IDC players, SingTel will not just be a provider of space. "Our unique selling proposition is that we are a Managed Hosting Telco providing one-stop IT and network services on a regional basis. Our customers can expect a consistent grade of service whether they use our data centres in Japan or in any of the other Asian cities," said Mr Lee.

SingTel’s network of data centres is located together with its extensive and robust pan-Asian cable and satellite infrastructure which it manages end-to-end. "This gives us network diversity and easy access to bandwidth. Unlike other data centre providers who offer only IP connectivity, we offer a comprehensive suite of services such as our ConnectPlus Frame Relay, ATM, IP-VPN and IP transit services," said Mr Lee.

The recent acquisition of Optus in Australia, together with its existing assets in the region (including Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong and India) has transformed SingTel into one of Asia Pacific’s largest telecommunications service providers. It is also one of the largest investors in cable systems including C2C and i2i, which will provide SingTel with extensive reach to most countries in the Asia Pacific. These assets would allow SingTel to leverage on economies of scale to achieve better equipment procurement and product synergies. The size and scale of its regional operations also means that SingTel is well positioned to work with leading global technology and equipment suppliers.

SingTel has partnered technology leaders such as BMC Software, Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard, National Computer Systems and Sun Microsystems, who will provide the equipment, software solutions and expertise to support the provision of EXPAN in Japan and elsewhere in Asia. In Japan, TIS Inc and Itochu Techno-Science Corp will act as SingTel Japan’s sales partners.

Besides EXPAN, SingTel offices in Tokyo and Osaka offer high-end data communications services to companies like Fujitsu Limited and Toshiba Corporation who have made Singapore their business communications hub. It also sells wholesale voice services to Japanese carriers. SingTel Japan has three points of presence (POPs) in Japan - in Otemachi where the Japan Internet Exchange (JPIX) is located, Shinagawa (Tokyo) and Dojima (Osaka). It provides peering connections for more than 30 Internet Service Providers at JPIX. SingTel Japan also holds a Type 1 licence that enables it to own and operate network facilities in Japan. SingTel Japan’s revenue has increased by 200 per cent to US$9 million over the last year due mainly to the increased demand for international data services.