Huawei signed a five-year global agreement with Norway-based Telenor Group to supply radio access network (RAN) equipment and professional services throughout the operator's European and Asian footprint.
The Chinese equipment manufacturer said the agreement focuses on modernising existing 2G and 3G networks and providing 2G, 3G, and LTE technology from Huawei, which has been a partner of Telenor in the area of RAN technology since 2008.
"We are pleased that Huawei continues to invest and leverage their innovation in mobile technology with Telenor. LTE is a key area of focus for Telenor and with Huawei global experience in building and supplying radio access equipment and professional services, Telenor will continue to bring superior mobile broadband experiences to end users," said Hilde Tonne, EVP and head of group industrial development at Telenor.
The new five-year agreement marks a further win for Huawei in Europe, which is an important region for the equipment manufacturer as it seeks new growth areas outside its domestic market. The company was given a further boost when the European Commission confirmed in October it had dropped plans to launch an investigation into alleged illegal subsidies for Chinese mobile equipment manufacturers, including Huawei and its domestic rival ZTE.
Huawei's commitment to Europe is further underscored by its investment in the region: for example, it recently agreed to invest £5 million (€6.3 million/$7.8 million) in the University of Surrey's 5G Innovation Centre (5GIC), which is currently one of the leading 5G research initiatives in the world alongside other government, industry, and university-led programmes in the European Union, China, Japan, South Korea and the U.S.
In October, Huawei also said it plans to increase its procurement spending in the European Union as part of its overall investment strategy for Europe, and expects to make direct purchases worth an estimated $4.08 billion (€3.3 billion) in 2015 after spending an estimated $3.7 billion in 2014. The company plans to hire 5,500 more staff in Europe over the next five years and to double its R&D staff in the next three years.
Europe has become even more important to Huawei because of its inability to penetrate the U.S. market due to government concerns over espionage--claims the Chinese company has rigorously denied on several occasions.
For more:
- see this Huawei release
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