UAE-based Etisalat Group, has signed a new agreement with global information and communications company, Huawei, in which the latter will support Etisalat by focusing on the enhancement of its broadband and digital services.

The agreement marks one of the largest ever consultancy services agreements between Etisalat and Huawei, a statement from the telecommunications company said. In attendance at the signing ceremony from Etisalat Group was Eissa Al Suwaidi, chairman; Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfar, CEO; as well as Huawei’s Sun Yafang, chairwoman; Ding Yun, CEO of Huawei Carrier Business Group; Shi Yaohong, president of Huawei Middle East region; and Alan Wang, head of Etisalat Global Key Account from Huawei.

As per the agreement, Huawei’s business consulting team will partner with Etisalat stakeholders to assist in further advancing the operator’s mobile broadband services as well as its digital services portfolio.

The primary objective of the agreement will be to support Etisalat in further enhancing its profitability through new traffic monetisation schemes, premium customer-support solutions and cooperation on go-to-market strategies for new Etisalat services, the statement said.

The agreement will include cooperation on key Etisalat projects such as recent investments in 4G LTE mobile networks and Etisalat over-the-top (OTT) media offerings such as its popular e-Plus packages.

“This agreement continues a long and successful history of collaboration between both companies and presents us with a win-win situation,” said Julfar. “With a large and growing global presence of over 139 million customers in fifteen countries, Etisalat Group has built up a large and talented international workforce. This agreement will enable us to further collaborate to bolster the international expertise that already exists in the group.”

“Investments being made today in future-oriented information and communication technologies are widely recognised as an immense driver of economic development, and for many years Etisalat has been at the forefront in offering businesses and consumers across the globe exceptional communication services,” Yaohong said.

“Leveraging Huawei’s strengths in providing end-to-end ICT solutions and our heritage in research and development, this latest consultancy agreement between Huawei and Etisalat will help to further advance such offerings while at the same time supporting Etisalat to reap the maximum value of its future network investments,” he added.

Etisalat and Huawei have partnered on numerous occasions over the past decade including recent collaborations on deploying 4G LTE networks in UAE and Saudi Arabia, introducing the Middle East’s first certified LTE training programmes through Etisalat Academy in 2012, and a memorandum of understanding between the two companies in 2011 to bolster Etisalat’s business across Africa and Asian markets.

Other notable collaborations include the region’s first commercial deployment of a 3G UMTS network in 2003, the launch of the region's first HSPA+ network in 2006, and the building of the world's largest GPON FTTH fiber network during 2008 in UAE. – TradeArabia News Service