Chinese equipment vendor, Huawei is
strengthening its presence in the Middle East, one of the fastest growing
mobile markets in the world.
Huawei has signed an agreement with UAE
telecom major, Etisalat, in a step towards strengthening its position in the
Middle East. As part of the contract, the two companies will formulate
an intensive internship program for staff enrolled in the operator’s
leadership development programs, with an aim to boost employee efficiency
by providing quality experience ranging from 2-3 months with Huawei.
The internship program is also aimed at
developing better human resource, while helping Huawei to take on global
competition more easily.
Huawei is slowly emerging as the leading
equipment vendor in the Middle East, leaving its European counterparts far behind. Along
with Etisalat, Huawei has also partnered with other key operators in MEA like
STC, Zain, Batelco, du, Qtel, Mobily, Orange Telecom and Vodafone.
Recently, Huawei, Etisalat, and the
Export-Import Bank of China announced their MoU for strategic cooperation,
encircling Etisalat’s entire footprint in 18 countries. The agreement was
signed to enhance people’s lives with emerging telecom technologies by
innovative new technologies across Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Last year, Huawei consolidated with STC
and deployed Middle East’s largest pre-commercial LTE network. Moreover, with
Etisalat, Huawei has also deployed its first pre-commercial LTE network in the
UAE.
In 2008, Huawei built the world’s first
commercial all-IP network for Viva Kuwait, paving the way for the overall
transformation to all-IP. The company was also responsible for the world’s
largest GPON FTTH network in the UAE, in collaboration with Etisalat. Huawei
and Etisalat also signed an official strategic partner agreement for Shanghai,
China.
As the result of these activities, Huawei’s yearly revenues have been on a rise
in the Middle East market. Huawei’s average annual sales growth is 50 percent,
while its overall net profit has grown at the rate of 200 percent in 2010 from
2008.
Looking at the recent investments and partnerships in
APAC and the Middle East, which are emerging hubs for telecom vendors globally,
Chinese vendors now have an upper hand over their European counterparts,
offering high-quality products at much lower costs.
Rashi Varshney
[email protected]
