Telecom network solutions major Huawei on Friday launched the global network operations centre (GNOC), its first outside China, here.
Huawei Telecommunications India Co. Pvt. Ltd. Vice President Rajiv Weimin Yao said the company planned to establish similar centres in Romania and Mexico. The Bangalore centre, which has the capability to operate multiple networks of telecom operators, including across countries in the region, “will be open, transparent and fully compliant with Indian regulators,'' Mr. Yao said.
Mr. Yao said the company was investing about $200 million for a ‘brand new' R&D facility in Bangalore, which would become operational in three years. The number of employees working in R&D operations would increase from the current 2,200 to 4,000-5,000 in three years. “The significance of India lies in the fact that software has become increasingly important in the telecom business. Huawei is a relatively young company, but is now the second biggest telecom equipment solutions provider in the world,” he said. The company already employed about 6,000 persons in the country, 90 per cent of whom were locals. The company's Indian R&D operations were one of the biggest, he said. “The initiatives we have taken in the last few years are aimed at making India a global resource hub,” he added.
Leroy G. Blimeggar Jr., Senior Vice-President, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., said that the company sees ‘great potential' in the managed services business. “Telecom operators, who have bought equipment from multiple vendors, want seamless operations. The growing complexity of the networks has made the managed services business very important,” he observed. The Bangalore centre will enable economies of scale for telecom operators seeking cost reduction in a competitive environment.
Sarvdeep Garg, Executive Director and Head (Delivery and Services), said Huawei established a regional network operations centre in Gurgaon, catering to the needs of Indian operators. “The GNOC in Bangalore will function as a disaster recovery centre if services at the Gurgaon facility are disrupted,” he said. The company was servicing the needs of more than 55,000 base stations across the country. Huawei is partnering Bharti Telecom on a pilot project for a 4G in Karnataka. The project would commence in a few months, he said.
