As per terms of the memorandum of understanding, Huawei will contribute to the development of the educational system in the Sultanate through providing wireless LAN connectivity to 100 government schools. It will also transfer expertise to 35 Omani technicians for installation and equipment configuration.
Dr Salim Al Ruzaiqi, CEO of ITA and Leo Chen, General Manager, Huawei signed the agreement in the presence of Pan Weifang, ambassador of
“Information Technology Authority is keen to support this mission of Huawei for the community of
Weifang lauded the rapid progress made by the country’s ICT sector through the efforts taken by ITA, and through this project, he added, Huawei was taking a solid step in promoting technology in Oman. “Huawei is an international company serving Oman for the last six years … We are keen to undertake this initiative and act as a catalyst in contributing to the development of the entire nation by leveraging the ICT sector,” Chen said.
Link:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/darticlen.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2009/February/middleeast_February37.xml§ion=middleeast
Interesting.... what does the company get out of this? I can't help but draw parallels between other companies that lock schools into specific operating systems and software
ReplyDeleteThe company won a tender to provide this service. In addition it was helpful for them to build up a reputaion.
ReplyDeleteIt is worth mentioning here that there is only one internet provider in Oman which is Omantel. This company gains very high profits for providing telecommunications services for such a small population. This article give an idea of how much they get:
http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidKUN0005090216063022/Omantel%20profit%20up%204.18%20percent/
Omani Rial is 2.5 american dollars.
Despite the huge benefits, Omantel is reluctant in providing services to some areas in the country in which they spend more than they get, so these areas are left out without internet. As a result, the Omani government found in Huawei the solution for providing these schools with internet because of the fact that there are inernet based activities integrated in the curriculum.