Huawei:Helping Build a Better Connected Saudi Arabia

By DU ZHAOWEI

INFORMATION and Communication Technology （ICT）， which is in full swing in the modern era， has been reconstructing human society. Dedicated to innovative ICT products， services， and solutions， Huawei is committed to building a better and well-connected world and so boosting human development. It has also become one of the leading ICT manufacturers with sales revenue of RMB 288 million in 2014， up 20 percent over the previous year.

The Middle East branch of Huawei， established 15 years ago with its headquarters in Bahrain， has been ranked first among all Huawei international branches in terms of the compound growth rate in the last three years. The branch has over 5，000 employees， providing services to over 260 million people. It is now the largest ICT service provider in this region.

The Huawei Technology Investment （Saudi Arabia） Co.， Ltd. is Huaweis biggest representative office in the Middle East， and has become the leader of ICT service providers in Saudi. It is making efforts in three areas – to eliminate the digital divide and promote ICT development， to be a trustworthy corporate citizen in Saudi， and to be a well-respected company among locals.

Eliminate the Digital Divide

In 2008， the petroleum output of 8.5 million barrels made Saudi Arabia， a relatively sparsely populated country， one of the richest in the world. The per capita GDP reached US $11，400. However， the fast rise in prosperity didnt boost the ICT development of the country.

Through deep collaboration with local operators， Huawei has covered over 80 percent of the country， providing high-quality telecommunication services to about 70 percent of the population， or over 20 million people. According to third-party statistics， from 2008 to 2014， the number of mobile users in Saudi increased from 36 million to 51 million， broadband coverage soared from 9.7 to 70.4 percent， and the country moved up three places to number 24 in the global ICT Development Index （IDI） rankings.

Huawei was commissioned by the Saudi government to run 90 percent of telecom projects in remote and mountainous areas. The company has successfully delivered over 2，600 base stations covering 15，000 villages and 3.5 million people. As the cooperation with local governments was carried out at different levels， Huaweis advice is often sought after by local authorities on such issues as broadband， wireless communication and development of smart cities.

In Saudi Arabia， Huawei pledged to grow with local operators， and they together achieved considerable progress. In 2009， the leading Saudi mobile broadband provider Mobily obtained 30MHz of TDD spectrum in 2.6 GHz. After comparing equipment manufacturers in capacities of WiMAX technologies， network construction， delivering experience， and end-to-end solutions， Mobily eventually chose two manufacturers to design and deploy the WiMAX 16e networks in 18 cities. As one of the two contractors， Huawei is responsible for constructing networks in 16 cities， and providing end-to-end solutions for building base stations， terminals， core networks， transmission， operation and maintenance. In other words， Huawei is bringing the country into the 4G era.

On August 26， 2013， Huawei and Mobily jointly announced that they will open the first 400G IP backbone network for commercial use， so enabling millions of mobile users to enjoy faster and smoother connectivity. The commercial application of the 400G router will open a new chapter in the countrys ICT sector.

In 2013， Huawei was chosen as a partner of Saudi Aramco due to its full understanding of the enterprises oil business and demand， and its rich experience with big corporations. Huawei and Saudi Aramco jointly designed an advanced and reliable system. Huawei designed a TDM network renovation scheme which， through its eSpace Unified Communications Solution， is able to provide multimedia telecommunication and collaboration services for Saudi Aramco.

A Reliable Corporate Citizen

As its business grows， Huawei is more aware of its responsibility as a corporate citizen. It established a training center in Riyadh that has trained over 8，000 local telecommunication professionals in last three years. It aims to cultivate 5，000 more hi-tech talents for Saudi in the next three years， and promote knowledge transmission in different forms.

Huawei Saudi Arabia is headquartered in Riyadh and has two other offices in Jeddah and Dammam. The company has 1，200 employees， 62 percent of whom are not Chinese. It has created overall 5，000 positions in Saudi.

In addition， as of the end of 2014， Huawei Saudi Arabias local procurement reached US $300 million and is estimated to surpass US $1 billion in a decade.

For a Better-connected Saudi Arabia

Huawei has conducted all-round cooperation in both mobile and fixed network fields with Saudi partners. The oil company Saudi Aramco contracted with Huawei to run an eight-year fixed network project in 2005， and a teleconferencing system in 2013. Rotating CEO of Huawei Hu Houkun visited Saudi Aramco in 2003 and held a discussion with Aramcos Vice President Khalid G. al-Buainain. Saudi Telecom Company awarded Huawei the “Distinguished Achievement” Award in 2006， and signed the strategic partnership agree-ment with Huawei in 2009 and the strategic cooperation agreement in 2014，marking a long-term full cooperation

The annual Hajj， or Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia， is a serious test of the nations telecommunication services. The Sacred Mosque， covering an area of 180，000 sq meters， accommodates three million pilgrims at the busiest time， which equates to about 860 million minutes of talk time throughout the world. To guarantee smooth telecommunication during the Hajj， Huawei has mobilized and transferred experts from all over the world to Saudi in the last 10 years.

“The future world will be all-connected， which will substantially influence each person， each organization， and each industry，”CEO Hu said， “Humankind， whether in the past， present or future， strives to break through the limitations of time and space and keep connected.”Hu said Huawei would， together with Saudi partners， shoulder its responsibilities and grasp opportunities to promote innovation and transformation of the industry， and build a better-connected Saudi. C