Telecom
Huawei Named among Top 100 Best Global Brands
Interbrand, the world’s leading brand consultancy, recently released its 2015 Best Global Brands report. Following its debut on the 2014 list as the first mainland Chinese brand, Huawei appears on the 2015 list again.
According to Interbrand, “Huawei is once again a highlight in the 2015 Best Global Brands report released by Interbrand. Its brand value, approximated at 5 billion US dollars, increased by 15 percent compared to a year ago. In Interbrand’s annual report, it is also one of the fastest rising brands in the technology sector, climbing from #94 to #88 in ranking.
“Huawei’s significant progress is not a result of luck. Everything has stemmed from the belief that customers always come first, and the persistence in providing value-driven products and services.
“Through their brand campaign, Huawei outlines ‘a better connected world’ and clearly illustrates how innovative ICT products, services and solutions not only break the boundaries of time and space to create smoother connections, but also enable the transformative evolution of enterprises and industries to drive progress in the world.”
As Huawei’s 2014 Annual Report indicates, the company maintained robust growth in all business segments.
In 2014, it recorded US$46.5 billion in annual revenue, a YoY increase of 20.6%.
Net profits reached US$4.5 billion, a YoY increase of 32.7%.
Thanks to its robust growth worldwide and continuous innovation in products and services, Huawei’s brand has grown steadily both in value and influence.
“Staying customer-centric and creating value for customers form the foundation of Huawei’s brand,” said Kevin Zhang, Huawei’s Corporate Marketing President. “We aim to achieve US$100 billion in annual revenue in five years. Any company that lacks ambition cannot go far.”
Over the past two decades, Huawei has connected one-third of the world’s population, with its information networks covering more than 170 countries and regions.
In order to utilize transformative trends in the future, Huawei is increasing investment in innovative technologies, such as cloud computing, Big Data, 5G, SDN, and NFV.
By pushing the limits of technology, Huawei is well positioned to seize opportunities in the digital era. It strives to provide full connectivity between people, between people and things, and between things.
It will also continue to deliver innovative products to individual users, businesses, and organizations.
As indicated by Interbrand’s professional evaluation in the 2015 Best Global Brands report, Huawei has progressed well over the past year in all its three major business segments – carrier, enterprise, and consumer.
Its strong R&D capacity, forward-looking strategic plan, and open innovation have contributed greatly to its brand responsiveness, relevance, and presence.
The company has maintained steady growth in the carrier market.
This can be attributed to three factors: continued investment in 4G networks in China; investment in network capacity expansion driven by global data traffic growth; and ICT investment driven by carriers’ digital transformation.
In the enterprise market, Huawei’s innovative products and solutions have laid a solid foundation for the company’s competitiveness, and are widely acknowledged by customers.
As a result, Huawei is accelerating its growth in the enterprise market.
This growth momentum is further fueled by the widespread adoption of Huawei’s flagship products and solutions (e.g. cloud computing, storage, and agile networks) in both domestic and overseas sectors, such as smart cities, finance, education, and ISP.
In the consumer market, Huawei’s quality products with superior user experience have enabled the company to become the brand of choice.
So far, Huawei has secured a strong footing in the mid-range and high-end device market. Its high-end smartphones – especially Mate7, Mate S, and P8 – and Honor smartphones have made solid progress.
These developments have allowed Huawei to enjoy quality and sustainable growth in the consumer business.
Amid a wave of ICT convergence, interdependency and co-existence are essential for different industries, products, services, and brands.
Close collaboration is required to build a more prosperous ICT industry.
Huawei on its part has expressed commitment to creating an open ecosystem.
Open partnership has allowed the company to complement its capabilities and exchange energy with the rest of the world.
With an open mindset, Huawei has collaborated closely with its partners in areas such as cloud computing, SDN, NFV, and 5G, aiming to jointly drive industry development.
At Huawei Cloud Congress 2015, Huawei announced its cloud ecosystem strategy, which focuses on IT infrastructure, software platforms, and enterprise cloud services.
The company is dedicated to building a more robust cloud ecosystem with its partners, including infrastructure providers, application developers, channel partners, integrators, and independent software vendors.
At the 1st Huawei Developers Congress (October 19–20, 2015), over 2,000 developers gathered to explore how to leverage Huawei’s open ICT capabilities to build a stronger ecosystem that benefits all.
Telecommunications operators have called on the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to establish a clear regulatory framework for airtime and data credit services, warning that millions of Nigerians could face fresh disruptions if the agencies fail to coordinate their responsibilities.
Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, ALTON
This is coming on the heels of the Federal High Court judgment affirming the FCCPC’s authority to regulate consumer protection in the airtime and data credit market while preserving the NCC’s exclusive mandate over telecommunications licensing and technical regulation.
The ruling effectively clarified that both regulators have complementary roles rather than overlapping powers.
Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), said the judgment should serve as the basis for stronger collaboration between the two regulators to avoid the regulatory uncertainty that earlier forced operators to suspend airtime and data credit services.
Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, ALTON, said the industry was not disputing the authority of either regulator but was seeking a clearly defined operational framework before any further regulatory actions are taken.
“The court has done something important. It has confirmed the FCCPC’s authority and, in the same breath, affirmed that the NCC’s role is preserved. Concurrency means coexistence. The industry now expects both regulators to establish the coordination framework that the court’s reasoning requires,” Adebayo said.
He stressed that regulatory certainty had become critical because millions of Nigerians depend on airtime and data credit services for daily communication.
“Forty million Nigerians depend on these services. The court has made clear that both regulators have a role. The industry is asking them to define how that works before any action that could disrupt access again,” he stated.
Adebayo also urged both agencies to engage industry stakeholders before introducing measures capable of affecting consumer access to the services.
According to him, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) directive requiring Regulatory Impact Assessments before major policy changes should be observed to minimise unintended consequences on businesses and consumers.
The renewed call comes months after major mobile network operators temporarily suspended airtime and data borrowing services following the implementation of the FCCPC’s Digital, Electronic, Online and Non-Traditional Consumer Lending (DEON) Regulations, a development that affected millions of subscribers nationwide.
In its judgment, the Federal High Court held that while the FCCPC has powers over competition and consumer protection issues in the digital lending ecosystem, it cannot assume the NCC’s statutory responsibility for licensing telecommunications operators.
Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa ruled that the two agencies must operate within their respective mandates, describing their relationship as one of “coexistence, not displacement.”
MTN Nigeria has warned customers to disregard fraudulent online posts claiming the telecom operator is offering “1 Month Free Data for Old Subscribers,” describing the promotion as fake and unauthorised.
In a statement shared on its X handle, the telco said the circulating promotion is not from MTN and is not affiliated with the company.
MTN urged customers not to click on the accompanying link in the online post or provide their phone numbers or personal information on any third-party website.
Customers are advised not to click on the link or provide their phone numbers or personal information on any third-party website.
“We will never require customers to submit their details on external platforms to claim data or any other reward,” MTN said.
The company added that all genuine promotions, products and services are announced only through its official communication channels.
“All authentic MTN promotions, products and services are communicated exclusively through our official channels, including www.mtn.ng, our verified social media pages and *180#,” the company said.
MTN also urged customers to remain vigilant against online scams designed to steal personal information, warning that fraudulent offers often impersonate trusted brands to deceive unsuspecting users.
“Don’t be the next victim!” the company said, reiterating that the purported “1 Month Free Data for Old Subscribers” offer is fake and not associated with MTN Nigeria.
National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has dismissed a Notice of Preliminary Objection filed by Pan African Towers Ltd. (PAT) in an employment dispute instituted by its former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Azeez Amida.
The court also awarded ₦500,000 in costs against the company after holding that the application lacked merit.
Justice Essien, who delivered the ruling on July 21 in Suit No. NICN/LA/143/2025: Mr. Azeez Amida v. Pan African Towers Limited, held that the substantive case concerning Amida’s alleged outstanding contractual entitlements under a Mutual Separation Agreement should proceed to hearing.
The ruling effectively rejected the company’s attempt to terminate the proceedings on jurisdictional grounds.
Jurisdictional Challenge Rejected
Pan African Towers had argued that the National Industrial Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter because the Mutual Separation Agreement executed between the parties required disputes to first pass through negotiation, mediation and arbitration before litigation could be initiated.
The company maintained that Mr. Amida failed to exhaust those contractual dispute resolution mechanisms before approaching the court.
However, Justice Essien rejected the argument after examining evidence presented by the claimant showing that several attempts had been made to activate the agreed dispute resolution process before legal proceedings commenced.
According to the court, documentary evidence showed that Mr. Amida, through his solicitors, issued correspondence and formal demand letters aimed at resolving the dispute amicably in line with the terms of the agreement.
The court found that rather than engaging with those efforts, Pan African Towers failed to meaningfully participate in the process and later sought to rely on the same contractual provisions to challenge the court’s jurisdiction.
Evidence Considered by the Court
According to evidence presented by Mr. Amida’s legal team, the court considered correspondence involving senior officials of Pan African Towers and its investors.
Among the documents relied upon was a letter allegedly written by the Chairman of the Board of Pan African Towers and Partner at Development Partners International (DPI), Mr. Adefolarin Ogunsanya, rejecting the demand made by Mr. Amida’s legal representatives for an amicable resolution before litigation.
The claimant’s legal team also tendered multiple email communications allegedly sent from January 2025 to Verod Capital Management’s in-house legal counsel, Mr. Dipo Okuribido.
According to the claimant, those emails did not receive any response before the commencement of the suit.
Based on the evidence before it, the court held that the conduct of Pan African Towers was inconsistent with reliance on the contractual dispute resolution provisions.
Justice Essien ruled that the company had effectively waived its right to insist on arbitration after frustrating the preliminary dispute resolution process contemplated by the parties’ agreement.
The court consequently held that Pan African Towers could not rely on the arbitration clause to prevent the court from hearing the substantive claims.
Court Awards Costs
Having dismissed the Preliminary Objection, the National Industrial Court awarded costs of ₦500,000 against Pan African Towers.
The court described the objection as lacking merit.
Substantive Defence Yet to Be Filed
The ruling represents the first judicial determination in the employment dispute.
The claimant’s legal team noted that since the suit commenced, the principal response filed by Pan African Towers had been the Preliminary Objection challenging the jurisdiction of the National Industrial Court.
According to the claimant, the company has yet to file a substantive defence addressing the merits of the claims relating to the alleged outstanding contractual entitlements.
With the dismissal of the jurisdictional challenge, the matter will now proceed to hearing on its merits.
The court adjourned the substantive suit until Jan. 12, 2027.
Background to the Dispute
The dispute arose following Mr. Amida’s departure from Pan African Towers after both parties executed a Mutual Separation Agreement.
According to the claimant, while the agreement governed the terms of his exit from the company, certain contractual entitlements remained unpaid.
His legal representatives said they initially sought to resolve the dispute through the mechanisms provided under the agreement by engaging the company through correspondence and formal demand letters.
When those efforts failed to produce a resolution, they commenced proceedings before the National Industrial Court seeking payment of the outstanding contractual entitlements.
Rather than filing a substantive defence to the claims, Pan African Towers challenged the jurisdiction of the court, arguing that arbitration and other dispute resolution mechanisms had not been exhausted.
The National Industrial Court has now rejected that position.
Related Commercial Litigation
The employment proceedings are separate from ongoing commercial cases before the Federal High Court involving Mr. Amida, Development Partners International (DPI), Verod Capital Management and other parties.
Those proceedings relate to issues concerning the ownership of Pan African Towers and remain pending before the courts.
The National Industrial Court noted that those matters would be determined independently based on their respective facts, evidence and applicable legal principles.
Legal Team Reacts
Reacting to the ruling, representatives of Mr. Amida’s legal team welcomed the decision.
“The Court has affirmed an important principle of contractual dispute resolution.
“A party cannot frustrate the agreed process and later seek to rely on that same process to prevent a claim from being heard.
“We now look forward to presenting the substantive case before the Court,” the legal team said.
The lawyers acknowledged that Pan African Towers retained the right under Nigerian law to pursue any available appellate remedies but stated that they were fully prepared for the substantive hearing scheduled for January 2027.
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