ZTE plans to push deeper into the U.S. handset market this year. In addition, the company reaffirmed its commitment to becoming one of the top 3 handset vendors in the world in the next five years.
The Chinese infrastructure vendor, which also makes handsets, is currently in discussions with U.S. wireless operators and plans on introducing a "full portfolio" of handsets in all market segments, as well as data cards in the U.S. market, according to Xiong Hui, ZTE's vice president for handset marketing.
Xiong said in an interview through a translator that even though ZTE is already in the U.S. market, having partnered with Sprint Nextel for WiMAX equipment, the company wants to become more heavily involved in the handset arena. He said that the company's strategic goal of becoming one of the top handset vendors in the world was based on its own internal projections for growth, and he cited ZTE'S 40 percent year-over-year growth in the handset market as evidence of the company's success.
The company's move mirrors that of another Chinese equipment vendor, Huawei, which has said that it plans on entering the North American market more heavily within the next five years.
For more:
- see this release [1]
Related Articles:
ZTE [2] supplying telecom services for Beijing Olympics
Report: ZTE [3] tops 2Q base station deals
ZTE [4] makes 3G device deal with Canada's Telus
Links:
[1] http://www.fiercewireless.com/press-releases/zte-unveils-next-generation-data-cards-0
[2] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/zte-supplying-telecom-services-beijing-olympics/2008-07-15
[3] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/report-zte-tops-2q-base-station-deals/2008-08-01
[4] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/zte-makes-3g-device-deal-with-canada-s-telus/2006-08-17