Zain, Axiata, PLDT, Telin, Turkcell and Viettel Join the Carrier Blockchain Study Group

The Carrier Blockchain Study Group (“CBSG”), the global blockchain consortium of telecom carriers, announced that ASEAN and South Asian operator Axiata Group Berhad (“Axiata”), Philippine-based PLDT, Inc. (“PLDT”), Indonesia-based PT. Telekomunikasi Indonesia International (“Telin”), Turkey-based leading digital operator Turkcell (“Turkcell”), Vietnam-based Viettel Telecom Corporation (“Viettel”), and Kuwait-headquartered Zain Group (“Zain”) agreed to jointly explore how to collaborate on building a next-generation global cross-carrier blockchain platform and ecosystem.

The CBSG Consortium is the leading telecom blockchain consortium. It was launched in September 2017 to enable the joint development of an innovative blockchain platform designed specifically for telecom carriers, led by U.S.-based blockchain technology company TBCASoft, Inc. (“TBCASoft”) and Japan-based SoftBank Corp. (“SoftBank”), with U.S.-based Sprint Corporation (“Sprint”) and Taiwan-based Far EasTone Telecommunications Co., Ltd. (“Far EasTone”) as initial founding members. Other members of the CBSG Consortium are South Korea-based LG Uplus Corp. (“LG U+”), KT Corporation (“KT”), and UAE-based Etisalat Telecommunication Corporation (“Etisalat”). CBSG aims to provide telecom members and their customers various services such as secured global digital payments, clearing and settlement, personal authentication, IoT applications and other services using blockchain technology.

The Consortium is also announcing the creation of an additional blockchain working group that will focus on global remittance services. Blockchain technology is well suited for these types of transactions; streamlining processes to better serve consumers. The blockchain platform and solutions proposed by the CBSG Consortium are specifically designed for telecom carriers and will help them create and extend their services beyond traditional markets and borders.

Dominic P. Arena, Group Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, Axiata Group, said, “As we transform into a New Generation Digital Champion, Blockchain has been identified as a digital platform opportunity which, by design, is extremely well suited to the global telecom operator ecosystem of trusted, connected and distributed parties. We look forward to working with our operator peers to develop the world’s most secure and fit-for-purpose Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) infrastructure, upon which we will build the next generation of digital services for our Consumer and Enterprise & Government customers.”