Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings, which plans to launch its high-speed 4G mobile network later this year, has formed a strategic partnership with British communications giant Vodafone Group that aims to enhance international roaming and other services for both companies' subscribers.
Hutchison, a unit of conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa, yesterday announced that their pact will begin upon the expiration in December of Vodafone's seven-year marketing partnership with SmarTone Telecommunications Holdings.
Peter Wong King-fai, the chief executive at Hutchison Telecom, said the Vodafone partnership 'will further strengthen our corporate customer base, and drive the growth of data and voice usage from the business sector'.
Hutchison Telecom and Vodafone plan to jointly provide customers with enhanced network coverage, harmonised roaming rates across multiple countries and greater cost efficiencies. Hutchison Telecom will be entitled to use the Vodafone brand and have access to Vodafone's mobile devices and services in Hong Kong.
Both firms also plan to support multinational corporations with services including consolidated bid management for regional and global Request for Proposal programmes, single master service deals, central ordering system and online telecom expense management.
'The value to Vodafone of collaborating with Hutchison Telecom Hong Kong will be significant, given the growing importance of the Asia region to our enterprise customers,' said Paul-Gerhard Itjeshorst, acting chief executive of Vodafone Partner Markets. Vodafone Global Enterprise - the business within Vodafone that manages the communications needs of multinational companies - already has 140 customers that have headquarters in Asia-Pacific, and a further 435 customers that operate in the region.
