Europe's altnets in Shenzhen, Dongguan and Shanghai
Tarry Singh travelled with a Fiber Carrier Association delegation on a Huawei-hosted programme through Shenzhen, Dongguan, Hong Kong and Shanghai between 29 June and 4 July 2025.
The screen said the same thing all week. Warmly Welcome Distinguished Guests from Europe, set over a blue skyline of a windmill, the Eiffel Tower and a row of other European landmarks, with the Fiber Carrier Association mark on the left and the Huawei mark on the right. Under it, in a Huawei boardroom at the Bantian base in Shenzhen on the morning of 30 June, sat a delegation of European fibre operators and a row of Huawei staff, printed name cards down both sides of a long table.
One FCA slide put figures on the visitors. Around 800 active altnets. Roughly four million connected homes and businesses. About twelve million homes passed, at an average take-up rate near 33 per cent. Huawei ran its own decks in return, on packaging broadband by usage scenario and on 2024 revenue growth. A second screen at the far end carried the Day 1 agenda.
The week moved. On 1 July the group pulled on Huawei-issued white coats and yellow caps for a production floor at Songshan Lake in Dongguan. In a showroom lobby in Shenzhen a Maextro S800 saloon stood under the glass, and delegates took turns in the rear cabin. On 3 July in Lujiazui a China Telecom host briefed the group from a lectern in a retail space, Tianyi Cloud posters on the wall behind her.
Hong Kong filled 2 July. Shanghai took the rest. Yu Garden on the morning of 3 July with the hosts, the Bund after dark, then a last working session on 4 July: tables in a long U, a projector on a stand, every place carded.
Huawei paid for the week and set the agenda, and that is worth stating plainly. What these photographs hold is what was in the room. The branding, the slides, the factory coats, the cars in the lobby, and a group of European operators putting their own questions to a supplier on its home ground.
A Maextro S800 saloon on display in a Huawei showroom lobby in Shenzhen, delegates with lanyards standing around it, 30 June. 
Delegates and Huawei staff along the boardroom table, Bantian, 30 June, flowers and place cards between them. 
The Day 1 agenda projected on the boardroom screen, delegates seated either side, Shenzhen, 30 June. 
Wide view of the Bantian boardroom during the opening session, welcome screen at the head of the table. 
A Fiber Carrier Association chart on the screen, delegates and hosts around the table, Shenzhen, 30 June afternoon. 
Boardroom in session on 1 July, a Huawei slide on the wall screen and delegates taking notes. 
A Huawei slide on ICT infrastructure and smart devices on screen, the room seated in front of it. 
A Huawei revenue growth chart for 2024 on screen, delegates seated at the boardroom table. 
Briefing room in Pudong, Shanghai, 3 July afternoon, several ceiling-mounted screens carrying the same slide, delegates on both sides. 
The Bantian boardroom mid-session, hosts and delegates facing the welcome screen. 
A second meeting room used on 30 June, grey chairs and a long table, delegation seated toward the screen. 
A delegate seated in the rear cabin of the Maextro saloon during the showroom visit, Shenzhen, 30 June. 
The Maextro saloon in the showroom hall with delegates behind it, Shenzhen, 30 June. 
The delegation walking a corridor between sessions at the Shenzhen campus, 30 June. 
Evening reception, 30 June: a long banquet table under blue light, European delegates and Chinese hosts seated together. 
The reception hall with a live band playing, 30 June evening, Shenzhen. 
Two delegates with event lanyards at the evening reception, Shenzhen, 30 June. 
Two delegates in suits and lanyards on the red-carpeted staircase of the Shenzhen venue, 30 June early afternoon. 
Fiber Carrier Association slide on screen: Market Reach and Connectivity, around 800 active altnets, roughly four million connected homes and businesses, about twelve million homes passed, near 33 per cent average take-up. Audience heads in the foreground. 
Huawei slide on scenario-based broadband packaging on the boardroom screen, 1 July, front row in shot. 
Tarry Singh with a host at the Shanghai dinner venue, the Huawei welcome banner lit on the wall behind, 3 July evening. 
The Shanghai dinner venue on 3 July, Huawei Warmly Welcomes the Distinguished Guests from Europe on a wall-width screen, a host standing beside it. 
A red-carpeted corridor at the Shenzhen venue, a delegate walking ahead, 30 June. 
A delegate beside the Maextro S800 in the showroom, Shenzhen, 30 June. 
European delegates and Chinese hosts together at Yu Garden, Shanghai, morning of 3 July. 
Two delegates in the Yuyuan bazaar square, Shanghai, with the tiered Ming-style facades behind, 3 July. 
Two delegates at the I love Yuyuan sign, Shanghai, 3 July morning. 
Three delegates at the I love Yuyuan sign, Shanghai, 3 July morning, a different grouping fifteen seconds later. 
Two delegates in front of a Yu Garden pavilion, Shanghai, 3 July. 
Rear badge detail of the Maextro S800 during the Shenzhen showroom visit, 30 June.
Market Reach & Connectivity: ~800 active altnets, ~4 million connected homes and businesses, ~12 million homes passed, ~33% average take-up rate, alongside a DESI household-penetration chart. Photographed on screen at Bantian, 30 June 14:18 (key 018).
Boardroom screens read 'Warmly Welcome Distinguished Guests from Europe' with the FCA and Huawei marks side by side; a wide LED banner reads 'Huawei Warmly Welcomes the Distinguished Guests from Europe'. The same artwork reappears at the Shanghai dinner venue on 3 July, and on the illuminated table place cards at the 30 June gala.
Slides photographed in the room include a Day 1 agenda, 'Huawei: leading provider of ICT infrastructure and smart devices', a 2024 double-digit growth chart, and 'Scenario-based Broadband Unleashes Experience Monetization Values' (document number 894-064).
Lujiazui, Shanghai, 3 July 14:32. China Telecom and Tianyi Cloud (天翼云) GPU-shop signage visible; a host briefs the delegation from a China Telecom lectern.
IMG_8727.MOV, IMG_8758.MOV, IMG_8780.MOV, IMG_8992.MOV, IMG_9026.MOV sit in the folder and were not opened for this pass.
