Vodafone taps China's Comtech for 3G phone design

Vodafone has awarded a design contract to China's Comtech Group for customized, Vodafone-branded 3G mobile phones, a Wireless News report said.

The report said Comtech would work with equipment provider Huawei on the project.

In February, Huawei signed an agreement with Vodafone to become the exclusive supplier of Vodafone's consumer 3G handsets across 21 countries for a period of at least five years, the report said.

Comtech said it expected to begin recognizing revenue during the third quarter of this year and continue to benefit from Huawei's long-term business with Vodafone, the report said.

"This design win is significant for Comtech as it is our first major deal within the 3G market and is consistent with our strategy to identify high-growth opportunities where we can leverage our existing customer relationships to produce orders," Jeffrey Kang, Comtech chairman and CEO, was quoted as saying.