Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. (“Huawei”), a leader in providing next generation telecommunications network solutions for operators around the world, has won a US$ 550 million GSM contract to expand the wireless network of Ufone, one of Pakistan's leading telecom service providers.
Ufone is the subsidiary company of Etisalat, and also the country’s second largest telecom service provider. Under the agreement, Huawei will provide its future-oriented EnerG GSM solution to expand Ufone's network to cover over 1,500 cities, towns, villages and all major highways in the country. The network also allows Ufone subscribers to enjoy high-speed wireless data service.
The GSM contract for Ufone also include Huawei's new generation GSM dual density base transceiver station (BTS) that feature high integrated and receiving sensitivity to improve the network performance and lower the cost of network construction and operation and maintenance expenditure. Additinally, Huawei will also provide the Mobile Softswitch solution based on the advanced UMTS release four (R4) architecture to satisfy Ufone's network expansion requirements to evolve into providing provider 3G smoothly.
“The previous network roll-out was the single largest in the history of Pakistan and we are maintening the precedence set this time as well. Pakistan is a high-growth market for mobile operators,” said Ufone President Babar Khan. “The current investments in network expansion will double its existing capacity. With Huawei’s EnerG GSM solution, we are able to provide high-speed wireless data service, thus further enhancing our service offering to Ufone subsctibers.”
Ren Zhengfei, CEO of Huawei, commented: “The telecommunication industry in Pakistan
is now in a fast track development period, when operators are competing on rapid network construction in a scaled manner and the provision of rich services to customers. As one of the top-class carriers in the world, Etisalat PTML (Ufone) has high standards for vendors in terms of their capability of end-to-end delivery. With our rapid response to customer’s requirements and rich experience in scaled network construction globally, we are fully confident in our capability to satisfy these requirements.”
As the world’s fastest-growing mainstream vendor, Huawei’s GSM solution serves 120 million global subscribers. The company has established strategic partnerships with Etisalat, STC, Telefónica, France Telecom, KPN, MTN, MTS, China Mobile and China Unicom.
About Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (“Huawei”) is a leader in providing next generation telecommunications network solutions for operators around the world. The company is dedicated to providing innovative and customized products, services and solutions to create long-term value and potential growth for its customers. Huawei’s products and solutions are deployed in over 100 countries and serve 28 of the world’s top 50 operators, as well as over one billion users worldwide.
For more information, please visit www.huawei.com.
About Ufone
Ufone is the subsidiary company of Etisalat, and also the country’s second largest telecom service provider. In 2005, Etisalat successfully acquired Ufone, the mobile operator operating as PTCL, and focused on the network development of Ufone. Over the last two years, its subscriber base has grown from 650,000 to over 8.5 million nationwide. Ufone aims to bring high-quality mobile communication services to all Pakistanis.
