Nokia lends helping hand to Belt and Road countries

Nokia Shanghai Bell, a joint venture of leading telecom company Nokia Corp and State-owned investment firm China Huaxin, eyes a greater international role through helping countries and regions related to the Belt and Road Initiative construct telecommunication infrastructure.

The company said it has provided advanced technological solutions to more than 40 countries and regions in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, which have recorded a total of 24 billion yuan($3.6 billion) in sales in the past decades.

"As the only Sino-foreign joint venture among State-owned enterprises, Nokia Shanghai Bell is ramping up business in the Belt and Road countries, bringing Chinese technology to the world stage," Nokia Shanghai Bell CEO Wang Jianya said.

The firm mainly cooperates with local operators, vertical industries and enterprises to offer equipment and technology including 3G and 4G networks, telecom intellectual properties and optical networks as well as ultra broadband.

In the Philippines, the company has helped local telecommunication operator Global Telecom advance technologies such as IP to establish a more stable mobile network, meeting the mounting demand for data in the country.

In recent years, many Southeast Asian countries have tried to catch up on internet infrastructure, as construction lags far behind in large archipelago nations with widely dispersed populations.

"To suit the complicated landform, the company has adjusted measures to suit local conditions. For example, in the Philippines, we applied different technologies in different parts of the country," Wang said.

He added the company has also helped construct the biggest 4G network in Cambodia and assisted Laos to upgrade to a 4G network.

"What we do in the Belt and Road Initiative has not only brought huge benefits to countries and regions involved in the road, but also propelled Chinese companies to think globally," said Chen Yuhua, executive vice president at Nokia Shanghai Bell. "We will endeavor to do more in the future."