China's Huawei, ZTE to develop high-speed internet in Algeria

ALGIERS - Chinese telecommunications manufacturing giant Huawei signed an agreement this week with Algerian telecommunications operator Algerie Telecom (AT) to develop very high-speed Internet service, Algeria's state news agency reported. According to Algeria Press Service, the partnership agreement is aimed at deploying optical cabling terminates at homes and companies.

The project will provide more effective communication between network users, including video conferencing, peer-to-peer, Internet Protocol (IP) telephony and online backup.

AT's CEO Adel Khemane told reporters that this "partnership project is set to deploy a very high-speed broadband network over a period of one year, in a bid to offer this service to more than one million customers."

Meanwhile, another Chinese telecom product manufacturer, ZTE, signed a partnership agreement with the Algerian Federation for Young Entrepreneurs (FNTE), as part of the deployment of an optical cabling network nationwide.

AT aims to strengthen its positioning in the telecommunications sector in Algeria amid competition from some prominent private operators.

China and Algeria, which established a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2014, have expanded cooperation in several fields, such as infrastructure, engineering construction and telecommunications.

Chinese telecom equipment makers are stepping up efforts to expand their overseas presence. Huawei's products are services, for example, that are available in more than 170 countries and regions.

Xiang Ligang, a telecom expert and CEO of telecom industry website Cctime, said Chinese telecom players used to only focus on the domestic market.

"But now as they leaped from followers to leaders by constantly experimenting with cutting-edge technologies, they are aggressively venturing out into overseas markets," Xiang said.

The trend also is in line with telecom carriers' eagerness to participate in global telecommunication projects.

China Mobile Communications Corp, the world's biggest telecom carrier by subscribers, said in May that it would step up efforts to build key cross-border optical fiber cable projects to link China with neighboring countries, including Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan.

It also plans to build eight internet data centers in countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative within three years, and build new submarine cables and international communication services' gateways to Asia, Europe and the United States.

China Telecommunications Corp, the smaller rival of China Mobile, also said earlier this year that it would invest more than $1 billion over the next three to five years to expand its presence in countries and regions related to the Belt and Road Initiative.

Xinhua contributes to the story