BEIJING-Following on its first wireless contract in the United States earlier this week, Chinese infrastructure company Huawei Technologies has been selected by Dutch mobile operator Telfort to deliver and install a nationwide UMTS network in the Netherlands. The deal is Huawei’s first UMTS contract in Europe.
The value of the contract was not disclosed.
Huawei will deliver a turnkey solution, giving Telfort full UMTS capabilities, interworking with its existing GSM and EDGE platforms and readiness for HSDPA technology.
Huawei said Telfort’s equipment choice was based on a technical assessment of its products and capability and on contacts with other mobile operators that use Huawei’s UMTS products in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates. Huawei also has agreed to support Telfort’s efforts to develop mobile data in the Dutch market by setting up a research and development center in Amsterdam, which will focus on end-user services.
“We are glad to have Huawei as a strategic partner for our developments in mobile data and UMTS,” said Ton aan de Stegge, CEO of Telfort, during the signing ceremony. “Telfort’s strategy is to challenge the established norms of the mobile industry, and this contract, which is the first of its kind in Europe, is exactly in line with that.”
This is the fifth commercial UMTS network won by Huawei in the world. The previous four networks are with Etisalat in UAE, Sunday in Hong Kong, Emtel in Mauritius and Telekom Malyasia.
