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China Telecom opens new China Telecom Gulf subsidiary in Riyadh, building on its partnership with STC and bringing its strengths in 5G, Cloud and artificial intelligence to the kingdom.
Last week China Telecom launched its new subsidiary in Riyadh, following the signing of a strategic partnership with Saudi telecom operator STC earlier this year. This is by no means a first – or even early step – by China Telecom, but builds on many years of business with GCC telecom operators.
I was delighted to be asked by UAE’s The National to comment on China Telecom’s expansion, a move which bodes well for the 5G ecosystem and promises to introduce more 5G, AI and IoT technology.
Like most telecom operators, the group is investing heavily in developing AI, IoT and 5G solutions and services to drive more revenue from subscribers – this is the focus of the partnership agreement with STC. Unlike many telcos China Telecom has hundreds of millions of subscribers and so has a unique perspective on future opportunities in the telecom space and has the means to test new technologies on a huge scale.
Without doubt, China Telecom’s new operation in Saudi Arabia is another step forward for the group’s business in the Middle East and an opportunity to accelerate collaboration with STC. So, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear of other big announcements from China Telecom about Saudi Arabia in the near future..
I wouldn’t be surprised to hear of other big announcements from China Telecom about Saudi Arabia in the near future.
China Telecom’s opening of a subsidiary in Saudi Arabia definitely also has a political dimension. China is keen on being a strategic technology partner for the GCC and its bilateral relations with Gulf countries have accelerated over the past decade and so has the science and technology focus of these ties. 5G, Big Data and AI were areas of discussion both during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the UAE in 2018 and his visit to Saudi Arabia in 2022. However, there are also potential political issues: mainly related to U.S. concerns about Chinese technology and communications companies.
As with many big Chinese ICT groups, the US government continues to investigate potential risks posed by China Telecom and how it handles American data. However, the reasons behind this are not lost on the region’s policymakers nor on the telecom companies. Gulf telecom firms are also highly security conscious, so I believe that any significant political fallout is an unlikely result from this new Saudi investment.
You can read Alvin Cabral’s full article in The National here:
by Carrington Malin
Carrington Malin is a UAE-based marketing and communications professional, consultant, entrepreneur and writer with many years experience of building brands, driving growth and leading high-performance teams. He has worked with a wide range of high-growth, technology and tech-driven ventures across ecommerce, consumer products, digital services, B2B, media, software, hardware and other sectors. These days he focuses mainly on emerging technology ventures related to artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR), blockchain, drones, Internet of Things (IoT), robotics and smart cities.