Huawei has won its first contract in India since the government lifted restrictions on Chinese equipment, with a deal to deploy a 3G network for Tata Teleservices.
The deal covers rollout of 3G equipment in five of the nine circles for which Tata Tele has acquired spectrum, with the remaining four circles covered by a deal with NSN announced late August.
Huawei’s contract follows a managed services model, and covers installation of equipment including its LTE-ready SingleRAN MSRs.
“We will ensure a rapid rollout of TTL's 3G network, enabling them to not only capitalize on the current broadband 3G demand but also future-proof their investments by making the rollout LTE ready,” Huawei India CEO Max Yang said in a statement.
The contract is a sign that Indian operators are starting to spend once more on network equipment after a freeze on buying foreign telecom gear since early this year.
It s the first major telecom deal for a Chinese vendor announced since India cleared operators to purchase equipment from foreign supplier, after a long informal ban on imports.