Huawei is joining forces with hospitality tech provider Linkbroad to launch HL Hotel Network Solutions. Together, the two Chinese companies already equip 10,000 hotels with digital signage, IPTV, and guest internet services. Fresh competition for Uniguest, Samsung & Co?
Hospitality: Huawei Focuses on Digital Signage
The electronics group Huawei (annual revenue in 2024: US$120 billion), as well as CCTV solution providers Hikvision and Dahua, are no strangers to the digital signage industry. The Chinese tech giants have built a presence across emerging markets with their digital signage offerings, but remain far less visible in Europe and North America.
A big reason is trust and regulation – many corporations don’t feel comfortable adopting solutions from major Chinese brands, some of which are on EU and U.S. sanctions lists. Huawei’s 5G broadcast infrastructure, for instance, is restricted in several Western markets, while Hikvision and Dahua CCTV systems are banned from use in sensitive environments.
Hospitality – Huawei and Broadlink join forces
At the Huawei Connect in-house exhibition in Shanghai last week, Huawei and hospitality tech provider Linkbroad presented their joint HL Hotel Network Solution portfolio. The two companies are combining resources, product development, market expansion, and service offerings. The goal is to accelerate the digital and intelligent transformation of the hotel industry.
With HL Hotel Network Solutions, Huawei and Linkbroad will compete directly with Uniguest, as well as proprietary hotel infrastructure solutions from Philips, Samsung, and LG.
Digital signage solutions for hotels since 2018
Linkbroad has been providing digital network solutions for hotels for over a decade. Core products include guest internet access and broadband management systems, IPTV hotel solutions, the Linksign digital signage cloud system, and many other digital infrastructure solutions. Linkbroad solutions are deployed in more than 10,000 hotels in 20 countries worldwide, including many well-known hotel groups.
In the newly launched HL Hotel Network Solutions, Huawei contributes IT infrastructure, network switches, and its Network Cloud Engine (NCE), which are integrated with Linkbroad’s interactive hotel TV system and Linksign digital signage platform. The joint solutions integrate with hotel property management systems (PMS) and offer both guest services and operational B2B tools for hotel operators.
invidis Comment
In addition to IT integrators such as Ricoh, Computacenter, ATEA, and Cancom, more and more ITC technology providers are discovering the digital signage market. Huawei – which is already active in many markets with its own branded screens – is focusing on hospitality for its market entry. This is a vertical market with comparatively high network infrastructure requirements for digital signage. IPTV in guest rooms and guest Wi-Fi require a professional IP infrastructure. This is where Huawei’s network hardware can score points.
The new HL Digital Signage solution currently runs exclusively on Android SoC – but that doesn’t necessarily have to stay that way. Partner Linkbroad could also be helpful in expanding the international business. While it’s also a Chinese company, the Linkbroad brand isn’t “politically charged” in the West like Huawei.
