Microsoft has cut a broad cloud alliance with Taiwan's number one telecom company, the erstwhile state-owned Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd. (CHT).

The pair Monday signed a memorandum of understanding to develop software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS) cloud applications and services using Windows Azure and other Microsoft widgetry.

In town for the occasion, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said their efforts "will include everything from the implementation of an optimized, dynamic data center to hosted services for businesses and new cloud-based services for consumers that span PCs, mobile phones and the television."

CHT is supposed to join the Windows Azure Platform Metro Early Adoption Program and offer cloud services on the platform to consumers and enterprise users.

CHT is also supposed to provide Microsoft's Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) online services and use Microsoft's Global Foundation Services and Dynamic Data Center Toolkit to optimize its cloud services in terms of energy conservation, carbon footprint, power savings, space savings and enhanced cloud resource monitoring and management.

The companies are planning to cooperate on cloud services that span the three screens: PCs, smartphones and TVs

CHT will, for instance, build Microsoft products and technologies including Windows Gadget, customized applications such as Internet Explorer 8 and Silverlight technology into netbooks and co-develop built-in, customized, value-added service interfaces for Windows phones. CHT and Microsoft also plan to cooperate on digital home entertainment application services for at-home TV users.