By Editor
James Wu, President of Huawei Carrier Business Group – Middle East discusses how his company is working to stay at the forefront of consumer, telco, and enterprise tech.
Huawei has just shared a fresh vision for “Opening ROADS” to a better connected world. Can you explain this in more detail?
The rapid development of the mobile Internet has significantly changed user behaviors in the Middle East and around the world. The way that people consume information today is marked by five fundamental characteristics: Real-time, On-demand, All-online, Do-it-Yourself, and Social; or ROADS in short. This evolution of consumer behaviors will involve the ICT sector shifting away from its traditional ‘network-operation’ mindset and prioritizing user experiences in order to effectively capture the opportunities posed by the mobile Internet.
Mobile broadband is rapidly evolving in the Middle East. How will your latest 4.5G “business blueprint” support local telecom operators in extending high-speed connectivity to the public?
The deployment of high-speed 4G mobile broadband is rapidly increasing around the world. The Middle East has been particularly active in this regard over the past three years. Our new 4.5G vision is a natural evolution of current LTE networks and supports fresh business opportunities through the enhancement of mobile network‘s capacity and capability. This can help support government plans to move more public services into an all-online world, with ultra-high speed connections and low latency allowing all of us to be fully prepared for the large-scale arrival of applications within the Internet of Everything.
Wearable consumer tech is expected to fuel the demand for these high-speed mobile networks. Can you tell us about your latest work in this field?
Building on our extensive lineup of smartphones, tablets and home devices, Huawei has just unveiled a fresh series of wearable devices for consumers to stay connected. These include the Huawei Watch which is the first smartwatch in our portfolio powered by Android Wear and packed with a range of health tracking functions, organization tools, and media features. Huawei also released its second generation of the popular TalkBand wrist devices focusing on health, sports and music enthusiasts.
What are Huawei’s plans to sustain its growth in the consumer retail space in 2015?
This year will be a significant one for Huawei’s consumer business. We will continue to pioneer technology innovations in areas such as wearables, the Internet of Things, and the emerging market for “full field communications”. Developing more strategic partnerships with retailers in local markets will also prove essential to our growth in the region and beyond. We are continuing to build our portfolio in light of the region’s demand for high-speed LTE services. Huawei is already leading on the LTE front with a host of smartphones, tablets, and WiFi devices that are LTE compatible.