According to an email exchange with a leading newswire, an executive at Huawei told reporters it was in talks with several Middle Eastern companies, and confirmed Saudi Telecom and Etisalat as two potential companies it could partner with in the managed services space.
Outsourcing managed services contracts are becoming increasingly commonplace in the Middle Eastern telecoms market, a strategy aimed at cutting costs and differentiating from competition. The managed services market in the region is worth a reported $1 billion, with Huawei holding a 55% market share.
Huawei has already established long-term deals with Oman’s Nawras, Saudi Arabian telco Mobily and du in the UAE in the space. The company has aggressively targeted growth in the country, and is presently aiding the build out of three LTE mobile networks for three Saudi operators. It has raced ahead of its rivals, which includes Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia Siemens Networks in the market.
