NGN interviewed Edward Chen, the UK managing director of Huawei Technologies. This is the first part of the interview. The second, and final, part will be published in the next few days.
NGN: Can Huawei outline the two or three most significant contract wins it has achieved to date in Europe (in western or central and eastern Europe)? Clearly we are aware of BT's 21CN, but what else?
EC: In addition to Huawei’s involvement in BT 21CN, momentum in the UK has continued with Opal Telecom recently opting for Huawei equipment to build a next generation network to support the delivery of new advanced voice and broadband data services to UK customers.
Other recent successes in Europe highlight Huawei’s continued success in the region over the past 24 months. Huawei was recently selected by Vodafone to build the radio access part of its WCDMA/ HSDPA network in Spain. This deal, coming shortly after an announcement Huawei is building a UMTS network for Vodafone in the Czech Republic, illustrates the growing relationship between Huawei and Vodafone on a global scale.
A growing relationship with Vodafone to provide it with 3G handsets (V710) and HSDPA datacards is also testimony to Huawei’s strong links with UK operators and ability to translate global service framework agreements into local reality.
Huawei has also been expanding its reach elsewhere in Europe, with Combridge Srl choosing Huawei to build its VoIP network in Romania; KPN Netherlands announcing its purchase of Huawei HSDPA datacards to extend the range of mobile services offered to users, and OTE in Greece choosing Huawei to build an IP DSLAM broadband access and broadband bearer metro Ethernet network.
NGN: Can Huawei also say why it deems them the most significant?
EC: Being appointed as a supplier to BT for the BT 21CN project, Huawei is helping develop a key infrastructure that will fuel the UK economy and provide a flexible way for consumers to user new services. Our involvement in this project is therefore highly significant, as we are committed to promoting the development of technology in the UK, enriching the lives of local people.
We are also very proud of the raft of deals signed with Vodafone because it illustrates the growing momentum of the Global Framework Agreement Huawei signed with Vodafone in November 2005 to supply the operator with a range of products and services to meet the needs of local markets around the globe. This demonstrates the ability of our local staff to support customers’ needs at a local level.
The relationships with BT and Vodafone are key – but we are also committed to strengthening its existing relationships with European customers, and also developing relationships with new customers.
Huawei will continue to aggressively expand its European presence and ability to support customers by opening new offices and service centres where there is a market need.
NGN: BT says that Huawei is providing two classes of equipment for BT: A copper multi-service access node (MSAN) and a fibre MSAN, anda set of CWDM and DWDM transport equipment. Can Huawei please identify the exact products it is providing, and can it say a few words regarding the particular merits of each?
EC: BT's 21st Century Network (21CN) is a global IP infrastructure, based upon multi-protocol label switching (MPLS), that carries voice, data and Internet services on a single network. The 21CN offers multiple services across a single network, rather than today's multitude of networks offering specific services. The project is expected to take five years to complete and BT will invest up to £10bn.
Unfortunately due the nature of the agreement that Huawei has in place with BT we are unable to identify the specific products that we are providing to BT for the 21CN project. They are however leading industry products from Huawei's extensive portfolio.
NGN: What does Huawei believe is the main reason for it being chosen for BT’s 21CN?
EC: Huawei already has global implementation experience of leading, mature products and has the technical and commercial flexibility to meet BT’s demands. Huawei believes that its customers choose to partner with Huawei Technologies because of an understanding of their needs and the ability to provide customized solutions in a timely manner.
There are numerous reasons why Huawei is well placed to meet the stringent requirements of customers such as BT. Checks and measures are in place to ensure all customers have regular maintenance and service support, with Huawei listening to customer needs so that issues are pinpointed and addressed before they arise. Huawei delivers industry standard Service Level Agreements and works over and above to ensure the highest level of customer service.
Huawei’s local training programme and training centre ensures all staff, whether new or long-standing, are regularly trained on the product portfolio and new technologies so they can address customer queries effectively.
No comments:
Post a Comment