Telecom
Samsung & Huawei: What Propels Telecom’s ‘Top Innovators’?
Samsung and Huawei are telecom’s most innovative companies, according to a recent Thomson Reuters global survey of patents and scientific reports, The Future is Open: 2015 State of Innovation.
The top two companies ranked higher than other big names, such as LG, Ericsson, Sony, and Fujitsu. But how?
Both have demonstrated that innovation requires an ability to invest wisely in your future, the courage to back the innovation process for the long haul and to be proactive rather than reactive to global trends. Of course, there are also more detailed reasons for their success.
The importance of Patents
The importance of patent portfolios plays out visibly with Samsung. The company has patent activity in all 12 segments covered by the Innovation report, as well as ranking in the top 25 patent assignees in nine of the 12 industries.
In 2014, Samsung invested a total of USD13.8 billion on research and development (R&D). It also maintains an Open Innovation program, which draws ideas from both inside and outside of Samsung.
Samsung also offers extensive training and delivers an innovation-based culture to its researchers, fully backed by management.
It guards the treasures well, maintaining vigilance against the theft of its intellectual property, as seen in the creation its own patent firm. The company continues to reinvent itself. And there is a goal to make products that stand out.
Samsung’s ‘relentless innovation’
“Few smartphone [Original Equipment Manufacturers] have the capabilities to really differentiate in hardware,” says Ian Fogg, Senior Director of Mobile and Telecoms at IHS. “Samsung is able to leverage its display division capabilities to create the twin curved screen, which makes the S6 Edge unlike any other smartphone.”
At the launch of the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, CEO J.K. Shin explained: “These products are the result of a simple philosophy. It comes to two words: Relentless innovation.”
Huawei: Investing in innovation, partnerships
In comparison to Samsung, Huawei is a new kid on the block, but its strategies and fearlessness are paying off.
“Usually the conversation in the smartphone market revolves around Samsung and Apple, but Huawei’s strong showing for both the quarter and the year speak to how much it has grown as an international brand,” says Melissa Chau, Senior Research Manager at IDC. “While there is a lot of uncertainty around the economic slowdown in China, Huawei is one of the few brands from China that has successfully diversified worldwide, with almost half of its shipments going outside of China. Huawei is poised to be in a good position to hold onto a strong number three over the next year.”
For the past 26 years, Huawei has invested at least 10% of its annual sales revenues in R&D, though this recently increased to 14%. Of this, 10% is dedicated solely to future technologies.
Like Samsung, Huawei is not putting all of its eggs into the smartphone basket. Huawei sees its targets spanning network, IT and digital infrastructure.
Its future will rely on joint innovation with partners to bring diverse vertical applications to market.
This includes cooperation, for example, with SAP and Intel on the Internet of Things (IoT), and integrating its infrastructure with SAP’s HANA big-data platform for IoT and Industry 4.0 segments, and with Sony and Harmonic to promote the E2E commercialization of 4K videos.
Huawei also plays a leading role in the SDN alliance and works with Stanford University and AT&T establishing ONOS, the first open-source SDN organization.
Huawei has elevated its reputation through its partnership with Google, making Google’s flagship Nexus smartphones, including the Nexus 6P.
“Clearly working with Google is a vote of confidence in the technology of the product,” says Fogg, adding that the partnership “opens up a route into the U.S. market to raise visibility for Huawei smartphones.” The Nexus devices, he says, “are intended to be showcases of the best of Android technology, and are designed to be seen as innovation leaders. That’s an incredibly valuable association to have.”
Huawei’s rotating CEO system
While Samsung basks in its ability to innovate hardware, Huawei is set up a bit differently for innovation. Most often the industry credits its founder, Ren Zhengfei – and the credit is well placed. Huawei, however, replaced the typical setup of one CEO, opting for a rotating CEO system so that three deputy chairmen act as the rotating and acting CEO for a tenure of six months, and form a board of seven, together with four standing committee members. Zhengfei maintains his CEO role, but also acts as a mentor and coach for the rotating CEO.
The system enabled Zhengfei to be more of a thought leader. He maintains a significant amount of influence in the decisions taken within the company, but he asserts the company can better make use of the collective wisdom available with this setup.
In addition, the company created Huawei University, where training sessions are given on conducting Huawei business and providing solutions. There is also a value training camp for new employees, where they are introduced to the core values of Huawei and learn that both individual and collective growth is possible by serving the needs of the customers.
Carolyn Mathas is a technology writer/editor for a number of industry publications. She writes for the LED and Wireless Networking Design Centers on EDN, and previously several DesignLines and CommsDesign for EE Times. The article was posted by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
News
NITDA Communications Director Hadiza Umar Named in 2026 PR Power List, Graces Glazia Magazine Cover
Mrs. Hadiza Umar, Director of the Corporate Communications and Media Relations Department at the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has been officially recognised as one of Nigeria’s top public relations professionals in the prestigious 2026 PR Power List.
The definitive annual list, compiled by GLG Communications in partnership with The Guardian, was unveiled to commemorate World PR Day.
It celebrates 50 outstanding professionals within Nigeria and the diaspora whose strategic communication strategies have significantly shaped organisations, influenced public discourse, and advanced the profession over the past 12 months.
Adding to the momentous milestone, Mrs. Umar was hit with a major surprise at the exclusive PR Power List Soirée and Awards ceremony held at the Alliance Française in Ikoyi, Lagos, where she was unveiled as a front-cover personality for the Glazia Magazine PR Power List Special Issue.
The double recognition highlights her exceptional distinction and impact in public sector communications and narrative management.
Speaking on the dual achievement, Mrs. Umar expressed profound gratitude for the honours, describing the magazine cover appearance as a breathtaking surprise.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to be recognized on the 2026 PR Power List and to feature on the cover of Glazia Magazine alongside other exceptional industry titans,” Umar said.
“This milestone is a testament to the enabling environment and visionary leadership of the Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, which has allowed us to strategically drive the narrative of Nigeria’s digital economy and technological innovation.”
Mrs. Umar, a highly respected corporate communications strategist, holds professional fellowships in the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (Chartered), the African Public Relations Association (APRA), and the Institute of Corporate Administration (CICA).
Under her supervisory role, NITDA’s media relations have consistently projected national information technology frameworks, start-up support frameworks, and digital literacy initiatives, to position Nigeria competitively on the global stage.
The 2026 PR Power List selection process involved a rigorous, independent evaluation led by a distinguished international jury.
The organisers noted that the class of 2026 represents professionals raising the standard of strategic communications and introducing new ideas to the industry.
The need for Nigeria to think outside the box in its need to drive towards global relevance with innovations and scientific developments will be on the front burner at the NITRA Innovative & Scientific Conference scheduled to hold on Thursday July 23, 2026 in Ikeja, Lagos.
NITRA
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will lead other delegates to discuss and take far-reaching decisions at the event, which has its theme as “Bridging Nigeria’s Digital Divide With Scientific Innovation”.
Other companies that have indicated interest in partnering with NITRA include mobile communications company, Tecno; Africa’s premier end-to-end AI solutions company, Hyperspace; and telecommunications data infrastructure company, Digital Realty.
Speaking on the proposed event, the Chairman, Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA), Chike Onwuegbuchi noted that the event will seek to create a platform for government and private organisations to deliberate on policies around scientific innovations in Nigeria, challenges, place of indigenous and foreign collaboration, roles of each stakeholder, and grassroots development in that regard, among others.
According to him: “The Federal government, with series of programmes and partnerships, has established the urgent need to create an ecosystem that thrives on scientific innovation, breeding institutions and individuals with a target of placing the country at the fore-front of Next-Gen development.
It is a known fact that digital and scientific innovations are crucial, not only to the survivability of a nation, but also to the sustainability of its growth and development, with significant effect on economic strength, global image, defense and security, government capabilities to function, and public health and safety, communication and digital footprint, among others.
The federal government is actively driving scientific innovation to foster economic diversification and build a $1 trillion economy by 2030. Efforts are heavily focused on commercializing research, establishing massive research funds, and funding strategic infrastructure, particularly in technology, biotechnology, and healthcare. Core government initiatives and policies include the newly instituted National Research and Innovation Development Fund (NRIDF), which aims to mobilize about $500 million annually to support research and the commercialization of scientific outputs; and the Nigeria Genomic City, a multi-ministerial initiative aimed at transforming Nigeria into a leading hub for genomics, precision medicine, and biotechnology. It is designed to protect indigenous data, stimulate artificial intelligence in health, and develop a highly skilled scientific workforce.
According to the General Secretary of NITRA, Mr. Chidiebere Nwankwo, the forum will also be a vehicle to propagating the views of decision makers to the public, thereby furthering the cause of public awareness and information dissemination on the topic.
The focus, he said will be on how Nigeria can sustain digital innovative growth and scientific development in Nigeria
The board of global payments company, PayPal, says a 53 billion dollars takeover offer from financial technology firm, Stripe, and private equity company, Advent International, does not adequately reflect the company’s long-term value.
PayPal
According to reports, the proposed acquisition, valued at 60.50 dollars per share, remains under consideration, with the board yet to formally respond to the offer.
The directors are said to be evaluating not only the financial value of the proposal but also the structure of the financing, the timeline for completing the transaction and the likelihood of obtaining regulatory approvals.
They are also considering the possibility of competing bids emerging.
Although the offer represents a premium of about 28 per cent above PayPal’s recent share price, the board believes the company could deliver greater value to shareholders if its ongoing turnaround strategy succeeds.
Following reports of the bid, PayPal shares gained about two per cent to close at 56.73 dollars.
Sources familiar with the discussions said Stripe and Advent have secured approximately 50 billion dollars in debt financing from JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, while both firms would jointly contribute 17 billion dollars in equity.
Under the proposal, the two companies would jointly own PayPal instead of dividing its operations.
PayPal, Stripe, Advent International, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley have all declined to comment on the proposed transaction.
The discussions come as PayPal seeks to strengthen its business after years of increasing competition from rivals including Apple Pay, Google Pay and emerging financial technology firms.
The company, which was valued at about 360 billion dollars in 2021, now has a market capitalisation of approximately 36 billion dollars.
Since assuming office as Chief Executive Officer in March 2026, Enrique Lores has embarked on a restructuring programme aimed at improving operational efficiency and restoring growth.
The restructuring includes the creation of three business divisions comprising Checkout, Venmo and Consumer Financial Services, and Payments and Crypto.
The company is also targeting 1.5 billion dollars in cost savings through the deployment of artificial intelligence technologies.
PayPal’s latest financial results indicated signs of recovery, with first-quarter revenue rising seven per cent year-on-year to 8.35 billion dollars, while total payment volume increased by eight per cent to 464 billion dollars.
If approved, the transaction would combine two of the world’s largest digital payments companies.
The combined business would process an estimated 3.7 trillion dollars in annual payment volume, significantly strengthening its position in the global online payments market.
However, analysts expect the proposed acquisition to face intense regulatory scrutiny because of the companies’ combined market share in merchant payment services.
To address possible antitrust concerns, the bidders have reportedly considered options, including separating PayPal’s Braintree business or other assets if required by regulators.
Sources said Stripe and Advent remain interested in pursuing the acquisition despite the board’s reservations, although negotiations are expected to continue.
Market observers are also awaiting PayPal’s earnings report scheduled for July 28 for further indications of the company’s financial recovery and future growth prospects.
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