Huawei Introduces Content Hosting Partnership Program for Businesses in Middle East

Huawei new Middle East Hosting Center to empower local telco operators to co-create original communication & entertainment services for the region

Mobilk - Huawei—a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider—has announced the launch of a new Middle East Hosting Center and cooperative program aimed at empowering local telecom operators to pioneer original communication & entertainment services for the public. 

The plans were unveiled at the Huawei Middle East InTouch Hosting Cooperation Forum which was attended by over thirty telecom operators from the MENA region and more than 80 content & service providers from all over the world.

The inTouch Lab Partnership Program is a first of its kind initiative to bring together the services and experiences of content providers from around the world to the Middle East. Through the initiative, telecom operators will be able to explore new service collaborations that deliver gaming, video, music and communication offerings to local consumers, while also opening up additional revenue streams for their respective businesses. 

To date Huawei’s inTouch Partnership Program includes over 500 partners worldwide collaborating across seven global Hosting Centers. 

The program is part of a long-term Huawei investment plan that started with the founding of the company’s first Middle East Hosting Center to support the technological requirements of the inTouch Program. Housed in Dubai, UAE, the center is already set up and will be the regional hub for all research and development efforts led through the program. These include access to open developer interfaces, app development tools, technology support staff & trainings, and testing environments for new services.

“Through extending the inTouch Lab Partnership Program to the Middle East, we are offering telecom operators an avenue for closer cooperation with the wider communication industry, with the ultimate goal of constructing a more prosperous and sustainable ecosystem for all,” says Mr. Wang Qiang, Vice President of Huawei Middle East’s Carrier Software. 

Alongside the Middle East Hosting Center, Huawei has further announced the launch of its own dedicated entertainment portal for the region known as Wakti—meaning “My Time” in Arabic. The online portal will house the various services developed through the global inTouch Program and will ultimately shorten the time to market of newly-created entertainment services for consumers in the Middle East. 

To that end, a series of MoUs have already been signed between Huawei and partners Rockville, MT2, Anghami and GamePower7. The agreements include cooperation on a range of mobile value-added services as well as video, music and gaming services.

“We have found worldwide that many of our current partners are pushing to innovate new services but may not be fully equipped with the in-house resources to realize their ambitions,” adds Mr. Mac Taylor, Chief Consultant of Digital Services Product Line at Huawei. “By connecting these organizations and opening up the technological platforms needed to co-create digital services, communities in the Middle East will have easier access to a broader world of entertainment and communication possibilities.” 

As one of the world’s largest multinational ICT companies, Huawei has evolved in recent years to be a full end-to-end solutions provider in the Middle East serving telecom carriers, enterprises and consumers alike. The company currently operates in over 170 countries worldwide serving more than a third of the world’s population.