Kuwait City, Kuwait - July 31, 2013

Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, and Zain, the leading telecommunications company in the Middle East, have announced plans to build a unified all-IP mobile bearer network in Kuwait. On the bearer network, the backbone network adopts the 100G IP and OTN synergy technology, which makes Zain the first operator to deploy a 100G E2E network that adopts IP and OTN synergy in the Middle East.

Zain Kuwait became the first operator to provide long term evolution (LTE) services in Kuwait at the end of last year. Zain's network comprises GSM, UMTS, and LTE mobile networks. With the rapid development of mobile broadband services, Zain wants to build a unified all-IP bearer network that covers a full range of services and provides ultra-bandwidth and efficient use of network resources."

Huawei provided Zain with the leading all-IP bearer network solution, including a comprehensive series of routers. Besides providing bearer for mobile services, the solution can effectively support Zain's business development in the future, support the next generation LTE-A service, and provide bearer for fixed-network services and bandwidth lease services. This lays a solid foundation for Zain to provide full range of services.

The backbone network adopts the industry-leading 100G E2E IP and OTN synergy solution. With the deployment of high-end routers and 100G wavelength division equipment and effective traffic synergy between IP and OTN (wavelength division) sides, the solution provides huge bandwidth and significantly improves bearer efficiency of the backbone network. Furthermore, the network protection, fault location, rapid synergy deployment, and simple operation and maintenance provided by the synergy solution greatly reduce the cost of network operation and maintenance.

Hani El-Kukhun, Chief Operation Officer at Zain Kuwait, said: "As our LTE subscribers grow in our network and overall data multiplies in demand, we realize the growing pressure this puts on our backhaul. Our radio capabilities need to be able to cater for these growing demands which have been carefully planned, but now it is time to unify our backhaul to be able to provide end to end quality of service and a seamless end user experience. Our unified transmission network that we have selected from Huawei gives us the capabilities to cater for today and the future growing demands of data in our backhaul network. The total unified IP end to end network will be one of the most advanced in the region."

"The development trend of the bearer network is toward IP and optical networks, and Huawei has made long-term strategic investments in IP and optical networks. Huawei provides unified E2E bearer network solutions to help customers meet back-hauling requirements in the ultra-wideband era", said Zha Jun, the President of Huawei Network Product Line.

Huawei has accumulated extensive experience of commercial use in the optical transmission and IP field. It provides customers with the world's leading bearer network solutions. According to Infonetics Research, Huawei takes the second place in the core router market and first place in the wavelength division product market. This makes Huawei the only solution provider to have such a commanding position in both fields.

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About Huawei
Huawei is a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider. Through our dedication to customer-centric innovation and strong partnerships, we have established end-to-end advantages in telecom networks, devices and cloud computing. We are committed to creating maximum value for telecom operators, enterprises and consumers by providing competitive solutions and services. Our products and solutions have been deployed in over 140 countries, serving more than one-third of the world's population. For more information, visit Huawei online: www.huawei.com. Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/huaweipress and on YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/HuaweiPress.

About Zain
Zain is a leading mobile broadband network operator in the Middle East and North Africa. Zain began life in 1983 in Kuwait as the region's first mobile operator. Since its rapid expansion in 2003, Zain has created subnets in Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Morocco. At present, Zain provides mobile voice and data services to 44.1 million customers.

As a local subnet of Zain group, Zain Kuwait is a pioneer in the whole-network deployment and commercial application of LTE. Zain has a leading position in the Middle East. Mobile broadband network subscribers account for over 30% of Zain's total live network subscribers, and its LTE subscriber base is expanding rapidly.

For more details, please visit www.zain.com/.  

For Huawei media enquiries, please contact:
Daniel Mercado
Account Manager
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+971 4 3050320
Daniel.Mercado@ogilvy.com

© Press Release 2013