Asian WiMax Operators Sign Roaming Deal

Taiwanese WiMax wireless broadband service provider Global Mobile signed an agreement to work with a Vietnamese WiMax company on international roaming and the development of WiMax services, including content sharing, the companies said.

Vietnam Multimedia Corporation (VTC), a government-run company, will work as Global Mobile's partner in Vietnam. The two companies will cooperate to build an international roaming network and interconnection framework, they said. They will also share information on the networking equipment and software they use in their wireless networks, to see what works best.

VTC will provide content including digital TV, mobile TV, Internet TV, online games, news and other data to Global Mobile for users in Taiwan. There are over 200,000 Vietnamese workers in Taiwan, on factory lines, at construction sites, as domestic help and more.

In turn, Vietnam is becoming a location of choice for Taiwanese manufacturers, including PC contract maker Wistron, which recently announced it will build a factory there. Two other big Taiwanese electronics companies, Hon Hai Precision Industry, the world's biggest contract electronics maker, and laptop maker Compal Electronics, have both already announced investments in Vietnam as well.

VTC is the first company in Vietnam to win a WiMax license, it said.