The strategic partnership has the potential to benefit more than 500 million mobile customers across the region.
Initiatives under this partnership include a retail collaboration programme, direct carrier billing, regional mobile app development challenge and direct access to selected apps.
The SingTel Group and Samsung today unveiled a suite of joint initiatives designed to bring a seamless and richer mobile data experience for their customers.
These initiatives are to be progressively launched by entities in the SingTel Group – SingTel in Singapore, Optus in Australia, AIS in Thailand, Airtel in India and Africa, Globe Telecom in the Philippines and Telkomsel in Indonesia.
These initiatives cut across many areas such as marketing, content and technology. This collaboration will help differentiate the entities’ services and improve their competitiveness.
Initiatives under this partnership include a retail collaboration programme, direct carrier billing, regional mobile app development challenge and direct access to selected apps.
The four joint initiatives are detailed below.
1. Retail collaboration programme
The retail collaboration programme simplifies the customer retail experience by providing a one-stop shop for their smartphone needs at selected stores of Samsung and the SingTel Group’s regional mobile associates.
Typically, customers in these markets have to acquire the mobile device and the mobile plan separately from the phone distributor and mobile operators.
This special arrangement will further cement the Group’s associates’ brand presence with mid- and high-end customers of Samsung.
This initiative is now available to customers of Globe Telecom (Philippines) and will be progressively made available to customers of Airtel (India) and Telkomsel (Indonesia).
2. Direct carrier billing with Samsung Apps
SingTel (Singapore) is the first in South East Asia to offer direct carrier billing for Samsung Apps allowing its postpaid customers to buy apps and content from Samsung Apps without a credit card.
This initiative will be progressively rolled out to AIS (Thailand), Globe Telecom (Philippines) and Telkomsel (Indonesia), customers.
Customers of these companies can soon buy apps and content from Samsung Apps by simply charging the purchase amount to their phone bills or deducting it from their prepaid account balances.
With direct carrier billing, the broader customer base in the emerging markets will have an alternative means for payment instead of relying on credit cards.
3. Mobile app development programme
Members of the SingTel Group and Samsung are coming together to give the app development ecosystem a boost.
The mobile app development sponsorship programme will identify innovative start-ups in the region and help them to accelerate their development and gain access to the Group’s 500 million mobile customers.
Selected developers from this programme will have the opportunity to have their apps marketed by SingTel (Singapore), Optus (Australia), AIS (Thailand), Globe Telecom (Philippines), and Telkomsel (Indonesia) in their respective markets.
4. Direct access to applications
Samsung together with SingTel Group Digital L!fe aim to deliver exciting mobile services to customers by enabling customers to access selected services directly on the phone without the need of having to download them.
The applications are carefully customised to reflect local requirements and content.
This arrangement will be available to customers of AIS (Thailand), Globe Telecom (Philippines), and Telkomsel (Indonesia) starting with the Samsung Galaxy S5.
Tags: Airtel, AIS, Apps, Bharti, data, Globe, mobile, Samsung, SingTel, Telkomsel
Direct carrier billing is amazing idea to accelerate using data and app for customer without credit card!!!! This Can be used smart phone for child or student!!!!
Yes it is, isn’t it. Makes it so much easier (and secure). But better watch the kid in the house, to avoid a bill shock!
If carriers can extend it to more generic online purchases, would give PayPal a run for its money. But got to secure the phone better. Good thing we can look forward to the “kill switch” in the future.