Publisher's Note: This is the second a multi-part series of articles on Chinese companies following Publisher Jeff Mucci's recent trip to China.

Huawei Fast Facts:

In 2009, Huawei achieved over USD 30 billion in contract sales and USD 21.5 billion in revenue (unaudited revenues). Their expected contract sales in 2010 will hit USD 36 billion.

Huawei's headquarters in Shenzhen consists of the Administration Center, Marketing Center, R&D Center, Testing Center, Training Center, Exhibition Hall, Logistics & Manufacturing and Staff Condominium (http://www.huawei.com/multimedia_library/headquarters.do).

Huawei has more than 95,000 employees globally, of which 46 percent are engaged in R&D. The company has 17 R&D centers globally and more than 20 innovation centers. More than 10 percent of Huawei's revenue is invested in R&D each year.

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Huawei's campus in suburban Shenzhen epitomizes my perception of Asian culture. The peaceful Zen-like campus, which includes a number of large multistory buildings made of stone and surrounded by water and trees, was teeming with activity. With more than 90,000 employees, over one-third of whom are involved in research and development, Huawei's exhibition center was second to none and showcased Huawei's complete product line from the Single Radio Access Network (Single RAN) platform to wind- and solar-powered remote base stations to the latest in handset and home-networking solutions. Huawei is a force to be reckoned with. The company has 1,000-member workforce in North America and is actively recruiting.

As China's largest equipment company with more than $21 billion in annual revenue, employee-owned Huawei provided me with a tour of the campus and exhibition hall along with a couple hours of access to two of its top global branding officers – Robert Fox (a Brit) and Ross Gan. Together we reviewed Huawei's accomplishments and core customer value proposition, which starts with “Innovation” and is tightly bundled with the following four elements:

· Convergence

· Green

· Broadband

· Evolution

I believe these words are driving elements in everything that Huawei is doing in the field and in the lab. While many may be critical and cynical about Huawei's focused, almost militaristic culture and concerned about its ties to the government, one cannot dispute the investment Huawei has made in research and development and the success it has had implementing solutions for Tier One and emerging operators around the world.

Below are a few key statistics for consideration:

· From 2004 to 2008, Huawei's GSM market share has grown from less than 5% to more than 30%, which is second only to Ericsson.

· As of Q208, Huawei has secured more than 18% of the global CDMA marketplace.

· Huawei leads all competitors with over 31% of China Unicom's W-CDMA business.

Finally, below is a recap of a Q&A session with Huawei's Robert Fox and Ross Gan:

RCR Wireless Q&A with Ross Gan, head of corporate communications, and Robert Fox, wireless chief branding officer

RCR: What are the most important things you want the industry to know about Huawei?

Ross Gan: Huawei has grown into a true market leader over the years, gaining recognition and trust from an increasing number of leading operators. With a growing list of customers in North America – including Telus, Bell Canada, T-Mobile, Leap Wireless, Cox Communications, and Clearwire – we remain dedicated to long-term investment in the North American market.

RCR: What makes Huawei unique as a company and why should someone want to work at Huawei?

Ross Gan: Huawei is unique because of our strong philosophy that all that we do should start with the customer and end with the customer. Huawei employees are the company's most valuable asset. In recognition of our employees' contributions, Huawei has established policies to ensure that dedicated employees are given meaningful benefits in such areas as growth opportunities and compensation.

RCR: How many employees do you have and where do you see the greatest need for people (geographically and skill set)?

Ross Gan: Huawei has more than 95,000 employees globally. We firmly believe in localizing our global operations, and make it a point to hire local employees. This not only enhances our understanding of the local market, but also contributes to the local economy by increasing employment, especially in less developed regions.

RCR: Huawei operates globally and in many different market segments, as you look at 2010, what are your top focus markets and separately top products?

Ross Gan: The telecommunications industry is now entering the age of all IP and FMC. Huawei is the pioneer in promoting all IP of telecom network and we launched our all IP-based FMC solutions in 2006. In the next five years, we will focus our investment on and reinforce our leadership in all IP-based FMC solutions. As part of Huawei's all-IP convergence strategy, our solutions enable operators to simplify their network, increase operational efficiency and business profitability, protect network investments, and accelerate time-to-market of new services.

RCR: What is Huawei's value proposition for mobile network operators?

Robert Fox: In a nutshell, what Huawei consistently delivers is dedicated operator focus, exceptional R&D investment, strong long term partnership commitments, and reliable excellence. Over the years, the wireless product line has developed and deployed progressive Radio Access Networks critical to a high-quality end-user experience. In turn, these strengths ensure end-user loyalty to respective operators, sustaining and enhancing the operator's market viability and increasing their competitive strengths. At the same time, our proven ability to provide customized, end-to-end wireless solutions and products; accommodating exponentially increasing traffic and constantly changing standards; respecting a concomitant need to contain or reduce costs; observing environmental and community issues. All of this and more combines, allowing Huawei to make future oriented solutions for operators possible and, most importantly as we look to a broadband future, profitable.

RCR: Of the top 50 mobile operators, how many are using Huawei equipment?

Robert Fox: As of the start of 2010, approximately 80% of the world's top 50 telecoms work with Huawei.

RCR: Why has Huawei been so successful in so many markets?

Ross Gan: We are dedicated to customer innovation and continuously invest in R&D. Huawei invests over 10% of our sales revenue in R&D each year, and we have 14 R&D centers located strategically around the world in North America, Europe, CIS, MENA, and Asia.

RCR: I recently read an article in the Financial Times that mentioned a $ 500 million investment in New Dehli. Why did you make an investment to grow presence in this market?

Ross Gan: The investment is over five years and in line with Huawei's plan to position its Indian presence as a hub for its global operations, including R&D.

RCR: What types of financing options does Huawei provide its customers? Does it include services or just equipment?

Ross Gan: As a common practice in the telecom industry, vendors usually not only have to provide technical solutions but also need to help operators obtain financing solutions. Huawei refers financial institutions to our customers when customers express a need for financing. These financial institutions then evaluate a customer's credit and issue loans to those applications that comply with their credit policies and risk control standards.

RCR: I was most impressed by the Single Access Network platform (WiMAX and LTE) Huawei offers. How critical has the RAN platform been to your success?

Robert Fox: Our experience is built on years of leadership across multiple technologies. Commercially deployed since early 2008, Huawei's SingleRAN convergence solution is a leading example of how our customer-oriented technological innovation accommodates and improves multiple combinations of existing technologies. SingleRAN enables smooth evolution from GSM to UMTS, HSPA, HSPA+, and/or to LTE through software upgrade while allowing maintenance, management and monitoring via a single platform as opposed to one for each separate technology. By adopting the converged solution afforded by SingleRAN, operators also manage to reduce footprint, reduce costs and simplify operation and management, ultimately allowing operators worldwide to move to LTE with no more than a software upgrade being required.

RCR: Can you describe what it means to be an employee-owned company?

Ross Gan: : Huawei is a 100% privately held global company owned entirely by its employees. Similar to Western high-tech enterprises, Huawei also has its Employee Share Ownership Program. Huawei's Employee Share Ownership Program helps attract and retain talent. Through this program, Huawei is able to combine the interests of the company with our employees and share the success of the company with its valued employees.

RCR: Also, how is Huawei financing its growth?

Ross Gan: Huawei will continue to make sound investments in building our business and generating long-term growth, as well as help our costumers achieve success.

RCR: In closing, what else should our readers know about Huawei?

Ross Gan: : Huawei is a wireless industry leader in North America. We have launched all major technologies (CDMA/GSM/UMTS/WiMAX/LTE), deployed a Top 5 market for Leap Wireless, and currently conducting several LTE trials. We remain dedicated to the long-term investment in North America, and our commitment to provide customers with best-in-class network solutions and continuous customer-centric innovation.

Click here to get more information on my time with Huawei.

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