Huawei Technologies Co Ltd has won a US$700 million contract from China Mobile for network construction, double its share of the carrier's budget, the Shenzhen-based company said in a statement yesterday.

Huawei is the No 2 equipment provider for China Mobile's expansion, while ZTE Corp holds the biggest share of the carrier's purchase orders for third-generation telecommunications equipment. Their status shows that Chinese telecom firms are challenging foreign giants such as Ericsson and Motorola in China, industry insiders said.

Huawei's US$700 million contract represents 23.6 percent of China Mobile's global system for mobile communications purchase project and was the second-largest share, behind Ericsson, according to Huawei.

Huawei, China's biggest private telecom equipment maker, will expand China Mobile's GSM coverage in 30 province-level regions with the deployment of thousands of GSM and radio products and services.

"Huawei offers operators not only the ability to compete but also provides a robust platform from which to seamlessly evolve existing GSM networks into next generation networks," Yu Chengdong, Huawei Wireless Networks' president, said in a statement.

China Mobile added a record number of subscribers for an eighth consecutive month after lowering the price of mobile phone calls earlier this year. It reeled in 5.46 million users last month, compared with 5.28 million in April.

Ericsson announced recently that it won a US$1 billion contract from China Mobile in the expansion project. Alcatel-Lucent China signed a US$345 million deal with the carrier last month.

Meanwhile, Shenzhen-based ZTE signed a 2.37 billion yuan (US$310 million) contract with China Mobile to provide it with wireless equipment for homegrown 3G networks, topping all other bidders.

"The Chinese firms' overseas expansion experience has brought them credit and reputation, as well as domestic orders," Norson Telecom Consulting said in a note.

Separately, China GrenTech said yesterday it won a bid from China Mobile to supply equipment for wireless local-area networks for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The Nasdaq-listed wireless telecommunications equipment maker, along with other two suppliers, will provide customized Wi-Fi coverage products during the Olympics in six cities, including Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin, according to Dora Li, investor relations director of Shenzhen-based GrenTech.

The WLAN will provide high-speed wireless Internet access in Olympic gymnasiums, stadiums and surrounding areas in the six cities.