Huawei, a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices, took part in TowerXchange Meetup MENA 2022, the leading event for the region’s telecom tower industry. At the summit held in Dubai, Huawei participated in discussions on tower vendors’ energy needs, wireless networks, and intelligent O&M management, among other topical industry themes.
TowerXchange Meetup MENA 2022, being held for the first time in the Middle East, is an ideal opportunity to follow the region’s rapidly developing towerco sector and discuss the industry’s future. The biggest platform for the tower merchant industry, TowerXchange gathered key global players in the space, such as Tawal, IHS Towers, Helios, TASC and Edotco, a reflection of the region’s growing towerco sector.
Dr Mohamed Madkour, VP for Carrier Networks Solutions & Marketing, gave the keynote speech at the event. He said, “At the TowerXchange Meetup, Huawei showcased its vision to meet carbon neutrality targets by delivering green energy solutions to tower customers. Huawei is open to extending its collaboration with tower companies to help them achieve their goals.”
Nitin Joshi, Digital Power Solution Expert, ME Digital Power, joined the “Energy Focus Session: Energy Strategies for Advanced Telecom Markets” roundtable. He noted, “Huawei Digital Power’s innovations will help tower companies deliver green energy to advance sustainability efforts and help overcome high power demand due to the rise of new technologies. Huawei solution will also help monetize site power, particularly in non-grid areas.”
Amr Farouk, Senior Business Architect, Carrier Network Business Group Middle East, took part in a roundtable titled, “Data Focus Session: Monitoring and Controlling New Tower Portfolios”. He said, “Huawei has end-to-end closed-loop capability and experience in digital transformation and intelligent operations with full scenario solutions, including digital site management & planning, digital engineering and digital operation and maintenance. The capability was built on the digital platform and software application site digital twin, ISDP, Neteco and Autin.”
“Huawei will cooperate and support towerco companies to achieve business success through higher operation and maintenance efficiency, increase revenue and lower total cost of ownership (TCO) by leveraging its digital transformation capabilities,” Farouk added.
Towerco operators enable carriers to optimize resources by offloading non-core functions to dedicated tower companies, allowing them to focus on the customer experience. In recent years, the sector has picked up pace in MENA with ongoing tower sale processes or under consideration in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Bahrain, Tunisia, Oman, and Pakistan. Additionally, a new towerco license is being awarded in Egypt, and ESCOs are now active from Pakistan to Morocco.
The market is unlocking new opportunities, and new players, both regional and international, are taking control of MENA’s 279,852 towers, with utilization of less than 15% from them. TowerCo operators highlighted that their business build-up is based on long-term investment, and they need to have a sustainable and innovative solution balanced between reasonable cost, applicability, and good business case.
The shift comes amid a heightened focus on driving co-locations and operational efficiencies and implementing best practices from across the globe in the sharing and optimization of passive infrastructure.
Huawei’s expertise in powering the most advanced 5G networks globally brings new value to towerco players. Further, Huawei’s site power products, such as the Advanced Hybrid Power solution, offer an integrated, industry-leading AI hybrid power technology and intelligent self-adaptation to maximize energy efficiency and optimize power supply architecture. The solution is specifically adapted to meet customers’ needs for a simplified, intelligent, and reliable power supply.
