Huawei ramps up Middle East efforts

Chinese equipment vendor Huawei has been stepping up its efforts in the Middle East after partnering with UAE incumbent Etisalat to improve the competencies and capabilities of the operator’s staff, and recently partnering with Saudi operator STC to roll out an LTE-TDD service in the country. Huawei has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Etisalat to help set the foundations for intensive internships aimed specifically at staff enrolled in the operator’s Leadership Development Programs. The internship program will consist of a series of joint activities in which senior officials from Huawei and Etisalat will join forces to tailor development of each trainee’s chosen career path, conducted over a period of two to three months. “Etisalat would like to build on the current business partnership with Huawei and take that into the next level toward achieving our strategic goals of developing and progressing Etisalat staff and promoting knowledge based culture, which will lead us to our ultimate goal of placing the UAE as a hub for telecommunication and IT in the region” said Faiez Awadh, senior VP for human resources at Etisalat. Albert Liuzebin, managing director of Huawei’s Etisalat global key account, added: “For both Huawei and Etisalat, creating a platform through which to share experiences and best practices will be invaluable in driving the advancement of the telecommunications sector.” Huawei also announced that it supplied Saudi operator STC with LTE-TDD equipment last month. The company provided its end-to-end SingleRAN LTE solution for STC; a solution comprised of Huawei’s radio access network SingleRAN solution, its convergent core network SingleEPC solution, its E398 LTE TDD/FDD dual-mode commercial USB dongle, and its E392 LTE TDD/FDD/GSM/UMTS/CDMA multi-mode USB dongle. “We are confident that our end-to-end SingleRAN LTE solution will improve STC’s overall competitiveness and will further consolidate its market leadership in the mobile broadband era,” said Deng Taihua, President of WiMAX/TDS/LTE at Huawei. Problems with the allocation of LTE spectrum in Saudi Arabia mean that operators in the country cannot follow their preferred choice of launching FDD-LTE in the 2.6GHz band, as it is currently being used by the military.

O2 Wifi aiming to rapidly increase wireless broadband footprint

O2's new head of Wi-Fi commercial delivery has said he is looking forward to "rapidly increasing" the company's wireless broadband footprint over the coming years. Ben Mein has assumed the role at O2 Wifi having previously worked as a director for the Nielsen Company's online and media business. The position will see Mr Mein work closely alongside O2 Wifi managing director Gavin Franks and take responsibility for the public Wi-Fi platform's business plan. Leading the sales team, he has been tasked with developing commercial strategies, expanding relationships with clients and third parties, and driving overall financial growth. Commenting on his appointment, Mr Mein said he is "relishing the challenge" of boosting the network operator's Wi-Fi coverage by teaming up with partner venue owners. The digital media expert added he will help "create a scaled Wi-Fi platform with the aim to at least double the number of premium hotspots currently offered by BT Openzone and The Cloud combined by 2013". Launched in January, O2 Wifi is designed to offer customers simple and free access to secure, fast wireless broadband connections. It is aiming to have a network of 14,000 hotspots across the UK by 2013.

Strategy Analytics: 4G LTE Mobile Broadband Pricing and Marketing Today Targets Early Upgraders

With 75 percent of smartphone users attracted by faster speeds, leading mobile operators are working hard on their marketing and pricing to showcase their LTE services, particularly as they look to offer new LTE handsets. Strategy Analytics examines the range of LTE marketing messages and pricing approaches seen to date in its new Mobile Broadband Opportunities (MBO) service report, "Taking LTE to Market: LTE Marketing Messages and Pricing Approaches." Leading mobile operators have launched commercial LTE services for modems, including: -- TeliaSonera in Sweden; -- Verizon Wireless; -- AT&T in the US; -- Vodafone and T-Mobile in Germany; -- SK Telecom in South Korea; -- NTT DoCoMo in Japan; -- CSL in Hong Kong; and -- Telstra in Australia. In the US, MetroPCS and Verizon Wireless offer LTE smartphones, and Verizon Wireless and AT&T offer LTE tablets. "In tracking LTE pricing for modems, Strategy Analytics has observed a range of pricing approaches, including introductory price discounts over 3G tariffs to encourage users to upgrade to 4G, offerings with various speed and data cap tiers, as well as bundling larger data allocations with higher speeds in premium tiers," noted Susan Welsh de Grimaldo, Director, Mobile Broadband Opportunities at Strategy Analytics. "Pricing innovation will accelerate as more LTE smartphones are brought to market. Now, MetroPCS bundles video content in its premium LTE handset plan." "Mobile operator marketing messages aim to motivate mobile users to upgrade to LTE by focusing on "faster" today, and promising new use cases in the future," added Sue Rudd, Director, Wireless Operator Strategies at Strategy Analytics. This Strategy Analytics report notes that nearly 75 percent of smartphone owners agree that a faster wireless network makes an operator or handset more attractive.