StarHub starts multi-cloud network transformation

Singapore operator StarHub has embarked upon a new multi-cloud network transformation project to boost the delivery, scalability, and performance of its mobile, broadband, and entertainment services. AWS, Google Cloud, NAVER Cloud, and Nokia have been appointed for support. The project goes under the name Cloud Infinity, and will deliver a “low-latency” and “simplified” architecture for more dynamic telecoms services, it said. 

The Cloud Infinity initiative will deliver “sustainable business growth” and “massive cost savings” for running its network operations, said StarHub. It described the project as “uniquely conceptualized” and “the first of its kind in the world”. Cloud Infinity builds on an additional investment of up to $40 million in its five-year DARE+ growth scheme, geared to strengthen “cost rationalization” and “prime it for sustainable business growth in the long term”.

StarHub said it will launch a secure cloud-brokerage marketplace called Cloud-X “in the near future” to offer sovereign cloud services, custom-built for local data privacy and security, to government agencies and enterprises. In a major way, the Cloud Infinity project is geared to monetise mobile and fixed broadband services with enterprises. But it could also enable “integration of Metaverse-like services” for consumers based on tech like AR and holographic overlays.

The company said: “StarHub… will adopt a highly-scalable and access-agnostic hybrid cloud architecture, which allows the company to co-develop platforms and solutions with enterprises and differentiate services through low-latency multi-access technologies such as 5G and 10Gbps. While cloudifying its own network functions, StarHub has also collaborated… to jointly develop ultra-low latency cloud, communication, and entertainment services.” 

It added: “This move enables StarHub to launch rich digital applications that could be hosted in edge data centers – where data processing happens closer to end users, so they can enjoy faster services. Cloud Infinity lays the groundwork for StarHub to deliver an endless continuum of Infinity Play services.”

Ayush Sharma, chief technology officer at StarHub, said: “Having embarked on DARE+ in 2021, we… are no longer just achieving project milestones, but going beyond telco to set new benchmarks for the entire industry. Cloud Infinity will serve as a cradle of innovation for our enterprise and consumer businesses, allowing us to deliver the market’s most unique, meaningful, and enriching products and services with speed and reliability.”

Priscilla Chong, country manager for AWS in Singapore, said: “Over the past two years, we have worked with StarHub to digitally transform beyond telco through initiatives such as DARE+ and Cloud Infinity, combining the power of StarHub and AWS to accelerate innovation, unify data and leverage analytics to gain meaningful customer insights, and deliver personalised content to re-imagine the customer experience. StarHub can benefit from the agility, scalability, and security offered by the broad and deep set of differentiated offerings of AWS.”

Karan Bajwa, vice president for Google Cloud in Asia Pacific, said: “Cloud-native networks will allow StarHub to become even more agile and innovative in anticipating and responding to customer needs. We’re very much looking forward to accelerating StarHub’s shift to low latency, high bandwidth, and multi-access cloud-native networks that will bring the combined power of 5G, the cloud, and edge computing closer to enterprises in Singapore, and beyond.” 

Park Weon-gi, chief executive at NAVER Cloud, said: “It is meaningful to introduce various solutions by combining the experiences and technologies of StarHub, one of world’s most forward-looking telcos, and NAVER Cloud, the leading cloud service provider in Korea, through this agreement. We will continue to actively develop services and to promote cooperation in order to secure global competitiveness beyond Southeast Asia.”

Raghav Sahgal, president of cloud and network services at Nokia, said: “Cloud Infinity really captures the moment for our industry. It will smooth the transition to a new world of customer experience, leveraging Nokia’s cloud architecture to deploy as-a-service operational and delivery models. It’s great to be part of this initiative, and we’re more than delighted to collaborate with StarHub on the Cloud Infinity program.”