The year 2011 is shaping up to be one of co-operation, with two Malaysian operators this week announcing a network sharing deal while DoCoMo, China Mobile and KT forged a mobile alliance.
Malaysian mobile operators Celcom Axiata and DiGi have signed an agreement to share sites, microwave links and trunk fiber transmission as the first step towards consolidating their networks by 2015 to match surging data demand and cut costs.
The pair will combine 4,000 sites within four years, as they seek to shed 2.2 billion ringgit (€535 million) from expenses over the next decade.
Celcom parent Axiata and DiGi owner Telenor formed a similar network sharing alliance in Bangladesh in June 2010
Meanwhile, NTT DoCoMo has entered into a wide-ranging business tie-up with China Mobile and Korea Telecom covering global roaming and the development of enterprise services and networking technologies such as LTE.
The trio will also jointly develop smartphones and common handset platforms.
DoCoMo claims the collaboration was fuelled by a wave of cross-border agreements currently sweeping Northeast Asia.