RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ("Huawei"), a leader in providing next generation telecommunications network solutions for operators around the world, today announced that Saudi Telecom ("STC"), the largest service provider in Saudi Arabia, has selected Huawei to deploy the first WiMAX 802.16e-based network in the Middle East, covering major cities including Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.

Under this agreement, Huawei will design and deploy an end-to end WiMAX 802.16e network including Base Station, Access Service Network Gateway, Network Management System, as well as an Authorization, Authentication and Accounting system. Huawei's end-to-end WiMAX solution integrates the most advanced technologies such as orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), enabling high-quality network coverage and bandwidth capacity. The distributed base station provided by Huawei is easy-to-install, featuring easy site acquisition and fast rollout. The WiMAX 802.16e-based network features high-quality network coverage and bandwidth capacity satisfying STC's needs to accommodate an increasing number of broadband subscribers.

"We enjoy a longstanding relationship with Huawei cooperating on different technology fields such as GSM and WCDMA," commented Bandar M. Al Qafari, general manager of STC's Network Department. "Huawei has the experience and technology advantages in the WiMAX field and its WiMAX 16e solution enables the next generation network evolution. Huawei has successfully delivered more than 5,000 wireless projects, and I'm confident that it will provide us with an excellent network that will allow us to provide wireless broadband access service to our subscribers."

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.