Qtel Group signs strategic partnership with ZTE Ccorporation

The Qtel Group today completed a comprehensive frame agreement with ZTE, an emerging leader in telecommunications solutions, which will see the two companies become strategic partners. 

The agreement will make available new network solutions from ZTE, including the latest innovations in WCDMA and LTE technology, across Qtel Group operations in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia. 

One of the components of Qtel Group’s strategy for tackling the changes affecting the communications sector is to improve cost optimisation. Frame agreements with major companies like ZTE provide the necessary infrastructure foundations for its pursuit of this goal. 

Through the partnership, Qtel Group and ZTE are agreeing long-term, sustainable pricing models which will offer significant benefits for customers across the Group’s companies, which include Indosat, Asiacell, Wataniya, Kuwait, Nawras, Tunisiana, Nedjma and Qtel. 

The agreement was signed on the third day of GSMA Mobile World Congress, the annual global gathering of mobile communications companies in Barcelona, Spain. 

Dr. Nasser Marafih, CEO, Qtel Group, said: “ZTE is a supplier with huge ambitions for global growth, and a delivery and pricing model that is designed to ensure success. The Qtel Group believes that it can derive significant, long-term value from a strategic frame agreement with ZTE, which promises to deliver world-class technology that is priced to reflect the realities of a new global economy.” 

Executives at Qtel Group are confident that ZTE will play a significant role within the communications company’s dynamic family of tier-one suppliers. These suppliers help build best-in-class networks for Qtel Group’s growing global customer base and are fundamental to the company’s development.  

Shi Lirong, CEO, ZTE Corporation, said: “The Qtel Group is the fastest growing group in the telecommunications industry, constantly looking for ways to deliver more choice and value for its customers. We think ZTE, with its focus on innovative technology and competitive cost, is a strong partner for the Qtel Group’s plan for continued investment in new technologies and businesses, particularly in emerging markets across the Middle East and South Asia.” 

Qtel has grown rapidly in recent years, from a one-country operator serving its home nation of Qatar to an international communications company serving an addressable population of more than 660 million people in the Middle East, North Africa, Asian Subcontinent and South-East Asia. 

As a diversified group of companies with a growing service portfolio, the Qtel Group is realising an increasing number of opportunities to extract synergies and drive efficiencies. The company has signed a number of frame agreements with key vendors, improving cost optimisation throughout the business.

The Mobile World Congress, organized by the GSMA Association, brings together 1,400 companies and over 60,000 mobile professionals from 182 countries each year.