Batelco and Huawei Partner to Work towards National Broadband Network and deploy Safe City Solutions in the Kingdom of Bahrain

March 27, 2018

MOU Signed by Batelco and Huawei during Mobile World Congress 2018

Batelco, the leading digital solutions provider in the Kingdom of Bahrain and Huawei, a leading global ICT solutions provider, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen their cooperation on collaborative business initiatives and to work together on the development of Safe Cities and the National Broadband Network in Bahrain. The MoU was signed during the 2018 Mobile World Congress (MWC 2018) in Barcelona, Spain.

This MoU between two leading ICT companies aims to assist the government of Bahrain in achieving the targets outlined in its Fourth National Telecommunications Plan, which calls for 100 percent access to reliable, secure and affordable ultra-fast broadband by 2019 for all businesses, as well as 95 percent for private households. Under the terms of the agreement, Huawei and Batelco will work together to promote the development of the National Broadband Network in the Kingdom.

The two companies will also combine their expertise to explore how to promote the development of Safe Cities in Bahrain. Huawei has a wide portfolio of solutions in the field that can be deployed to enhance the safety and living standards of urban areas by increasing road safety, infrastructure security and sanitation as well as decreasing pollution and the risk of terrorism and cybercrime. Safe City solutions can also decrease the response time of police and first responders to crises through the deployment of a digital platform that aggregates inputs from multiple data sources (sensors, mobile devices, cameras) for actionable and immediate intelligence. Under the terms of the agreement, Huawei and Batelco will explore how to best deploy cutting-edge Safe City solutions to increase the wellbeing of the population.

Shaikh Mohamed Bin Khalifa Alkhalifa, Chairman of Batelco, said, “Batelco is delighted to partner with Huawei to explore how ICT can be deployed to enhance the safety and overall environment of the Kingdom. We strive to assist our government in promoting the growth of a robust National Broadband Network and nurturing a secure atmosphere that will empower the Bahraini people to live fearlessly to their full potential. We believe that deploying Huawei’s Safe City solutions across the Kingdom is a step in the right direction to creating such an open and relaxed atmosphere.”

Charles Yang, President of Huawei Middle East, commented, “We are excited to enter into this strategic partnership with Batelco, which will enable us to better assist the leadership of the Kingdom of Bahrain in reaching the targets outlined in its Fourth National Telecommunications Plan. We also look forward to working with Batelco to explore how Safe City solutions can be used to enhance the safety and wellbeing of the Bahraini population.”