ZTE claims a new €200 million contract with Telenor Hungary proves it is making headway in the European market.
The Chinese vendor will deploy 6,000 GSM/UMTS/LTE base stations throughout Hungary, which the carrier will use to launch multi-band wireless services, in a five-year deal unveiled yesterday.
Shi Lirong, CEO of ZTE, said the deal shows that ZTE's strategy of building its market share in Europe - which started with a customized handsets push - is starting to pay off, in an interview with FT.com.
“Virtually all European operators have shortlisted us now... [and] that has happened over the course of this year,” Lirong said, adding that he hopes to secure several more large deals in Europe in the coming months.
Telenor Hungary's CEO, Anders Jensen, said ZTE won the contract by undercutting its competitors in terms of TCO.
One telecoms analyst commented that the LTE element of the Telenor Hungary deal is important in terms of cementing ZTE’s position as a leading 4G supplier, Reuters reported.
Europe is also an increasingly important market for ZTE, with deals covering deployment of a Wimax network for Telefonica in Spain and an upgrade to KPN’s wireless networks helping the firm boost profits 12% to €100 million during 1H10, as business from the US and Europe grew 45% during the quarter.
Rival Chinese vendor Huawei is also focused heavily on the region, with particular emphasis on Eastern Europe, FT.com said.