The United Arab Emirates’ second-largest operator Du has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Chinese ICT solutions provider Huawei to develop an advanced mobile broadband network.
Under the terms of the three-year project, Huawei will assist the Dubai-based telecom firm in developing its next-generation mobile broadband network in the UAE.
“As our strategic partner, Huawei has showcased its capability in partnering with us to shape the evolution roadmap for our network and has implemented multilayer network solutions across the world,” said Du’s VP of mobile access networks Marwan BinShakar.
As part of the agreement, the Chinese company will focus  on network insight, user behavior analysis, user migration analysis, and spectrum and network evolution recommendations. Through this process, Huawei will show the Arab telco how to analyze the network and its customer’s usage habits to maximize the efficiency of its mobile broadband network.
Du has recently launched its LTE-A network through a partnership with Nokia Networks. In June 2012, the operator commercially launched LTE services on 1800 MHz. Founded in 2007, the Arab telecom operator serves more than 7.5 million individual customers and over 80,000 businesses in the UAE. Du also provides carrier services for businesses and satellite up/downlink services for TV broadcasters.
Etisalat, NBAD launch m-payment service in UAE
In related news, UAE-based mobile operator Etisalat and National Bank of Abu Dhabi have partnered to jointly deliver a mobile point-of-sale solution to businesses across the UAE. The new solution, dubbed “Mobile Cashier” will enable business customers to accept payments via credit, debit or prepaid cards, and mange cash transactions through their mobile phones.
Mobile Cashier service enables merchants to accept payments directly on their mobile phones, securely connected to a card reader via Bluetooth. In addition to sending a transaction receipt via text or e-mail, merchants can print receipts via a portable printer if requested by the customer.
