HGC expands operations in Greater Mekong Subregion and EMEA region

The company set up new office in London to deliver its full portfolio of telecoms solutions to Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Hutchison Global Communications Limited (HGC or the Company), the fixed-line operating division of Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings Limited, has extended network reach to the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) and established an enhanced presence in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). HGC’s customer base in the GMS has increased in size, while the volume of the Company’s voice traffic from EMEA doubled in the first quarter of 2011 compared with the same period last year.

Widening spectrum of customers in the GMS
HGC’s fully-fledged network and data services were extended to the GMS in January 2010 and now serve the Subregion’s carriers, as well as overseas carriers and enterprises, with extensive and highly-resilient connectivity that links five GMS member countries – Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

The GMS network offers full diversity via at least two routes between each GMS network connection point and other destinations. It deploys both submarine and terrestrial cables on multiple physical paths. These are connected to HGC’s core global network to provide diverse routes from the GMS to Asia, Europe and the US, as well as to facilitate interconnections throughout Subregion nations.

HGC’s spectrum of business customers in the GMS has widened, mainly as a result of the Company’s ability to meet the upwardly-surging needs of corporate customers seeking to benefit from the Subregion’s rapid economic growth. These include multinational corporations such as manufacturing giants, banking and financial institutions, telecoms operators, news agencies, as well as small and medium enterprises.

Provided Myanmar’s first IP-VPN service
Andrew Kwok, HGC’s Senior Vice President of International Business, said: “As the first overseas network operator to provide intra-GMS connectivity – characterised by the provision of one stop-shop solutions, total network diversity and stringent service level agreements, together with connection between the Subregion and rest of the world – we not only enjoy first-mover advantage, but also a higher profit margin as telecoms solutions delivered in unserved and underserved new markets fetch a higher premium compared with those in developed markets.”

HGC ventured into the GMS in 2004, with the design and project management of the world’s first terrestrial cable connectivity between Vietnam and Hong Kong via mainland China, before proceeding to provide Myanmar’s first IP-VPN service in 2008. Network reach has since been extended to other parts of the Subregion. The Company has established local offices in the GMS to provide timely support based on homegrown talent and know-how backed by stringent service level agreements to meet customers’ increasingly sophisticated requirements.

Enhanced presence in EMEA leads to a doubling of voice traffic
In a move to serve the international connectivity needs of Chinese enterprises and other Asian companies as they go global, HGC strengthened its business presence in EMEA by establishing an office in London last December. This has enhanced network connectivity between Asia and Europe and extends the Company’s reach into the Middle East and Africa.

HGC’s business reach of EMEA now includes major African nations such as Egypt and Kenya, as well as Dubai in the Middle East plus Hungary and Scotland in Europe. This enhanced regional presence led to a doubling of the Company’s volume of voice traffic from EMEA for the first quarter of 2011 compared with the corresponding period last year.

Mr Kwok said: “We expect the volume of voice traffic in EMEA to account for approximately one third of our total voice traffic this year, with the key driver of growth in EMEA being Europe. From a data perspective, we plan to establish new points-of-presence (PoPs) in the region during the second half of 2011 in order to deliver diverse telecoms solutions, especially as more cities in Africa are switching from satellite to fibre connectivity.”

Dedicated service teams in London attract new business HGC is able to offer multiple gigabits of capacity on Hong Kong westbound routes, as well as transpacific and transatlantic cable systems on Hong Kong eastbound routes, to provide diverse network connectivity between Asia and Europe via its PoP in London. The Company’s highly meshed global network architecture and extensive bandwidth scalability attracted new clients and broadened its EMEA customer base.

A prime example is HGC’s recent provision of connectivity to European broadcasters in order to facilitate live coverage of the 2011 Formula 1™ events in Shanghai and Malaysia. Further Asiabased sporting events will see HGC providing yet more international connectivity and bandwidth solutions to meet the demanding needs of customer organisations in EMEA.

The new office in London, headed by HGC’s Ravindran Mahalingam, General Manager of EMEA Region - International Business, delivers the Company’s full portfolio of telecoms solutions to EMEA. Given a closer proximity to the region, HGC is now able to serve customer organisations in EMEA with round-the-clock technical support in similar time zones.

Extension of HGC’s fully-meshed network and telecoms services to the GMS, along with deeper penetration of EMEA, look set to generate greater international business growth, while sharpening the Company’s competitive edge and strengthening our market leadership.