AFP | February 20, 2011
LONDON — Chinese technology giant Huawei is offering to install for free a mobile phone network worth £50 million on the London Underground train system in time for the 2012 Olympics, a report said Sunday.
Huawei is presenting the offer — worth the equivalent of $80 million — as a gift from one Olympic host nation to another, reported the Sunday Times newspaper, without citing its sources.
The company would reportedly install mobile transmitters along the ceilings of tunnels so that travellers can make and receive calls for the first time while underground.
Mobile operators including Vodafone and O2 have agreed to pay for the installation work, while Huawei hopes to earn income in maintenance fees, according to the report.
Transport for London (TfL), the official body responsible for the transport system in the capital, said talks had started on fitting a mobile network on the underground but did not confirm Huawei’s involvement.
“Transport for London and the Mayor of London are currently in discussion with mobile phone operators and other suppliers about the potential provision of mobile phone services on the deep Tube network,” said a spokesman.
….
