Top Biz News

Huawei wins first US 3G telecoms deal

(Shenzhen Daily)
Updated: 2006-08-17 14:12

Shenzhen based Huawei Technologies said it has agreed to sell third-generation (3G) telecoms equipment to U.S. wireless carrier Leap Wireless, in the firm's first 3G sale in North America.

Terms of the deal with California-based Leap, a smaller U.S. carrier, were not disclosed.

Under the deal, Huawei, China's largest provider of telecoms equipment, will sell 3G equipment based on the CDMA 2000 standard for use in Leap's networks in the cities of Spokane, Wash.; Boise, Idaho; and Reno, Nev.

Huawei has made previous sales in the United States to companies including NTCH Inc., operator of a service called ClearTalk, and to Hibernia Atlantic. But those deals were to relatively niche players and were believed to be small.

The privately own Huawei, along with cross-town rival ZTE Corp., a Shenzhen and Hong Kong listed company, have been two of China's most successful exporters to date, posting billions of dollars in overseas sales in recent years as they go head-to-head with Western giants Ericsson, Motorola and Nokia .

Last year alone, Huawei posted US$4.76 billion in export contract sales.

But while ZTE's exports have been mostly confined to developing markets such as the Middle East and Africa, Huawei has made significant inroads into more lucrative developed markets in the last two years, mostly in Western Europe.

In its most recent breakthrough, Huawei announced a deal last month to sell 3G equipment to Japanese firm eAccess Ltd., marking the Chinese firm's first major sale in Japan.