Huawei expects to double LTE deals in 2011

Huawei expects to double the number of commercial LTE contracts it has next year, and anticipates LTE-related revenue will make up a significant portion of its sales by 2014, a key executive said.

Ying Weimin, head of the Chinese equipment vendor's LTE business unit, told Reuters that next year Huawei plans to double the number of commercial LTE contracts it has, from 18 this year. He also said the vendor will boost the number of LTE trial networks it is participating in to 100, up from 70 in 2010.

The LTE market is expected to grow to $6 billion in 2014, according to research firm Dell'Oro. Huawei has so far nabbed a number of high-profile LTE deals in Scandinavia and is looking to extend its reach to additional Western markets. However, Huawei's LTE growth goals, while aggressive, are not unexpected. Indeed, other major vendors, including Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC), Alcatel-Lucent (NASDAQ:ALU) and Nokia Siemens Networks are expected to increase their own LTE efforts as more operators turn on next-generation networks.

Operators' 4G network spending is expected to fuel growth in the infrastructure market. According to research firm iSuppli, global infrastructure spending, bumped up by LTE outlays, will reach $40.3 billion in 2011, up 6.7 percent from $37.8 billion in 2009.

Ying also turned his attention to the U.S. market, where concerns about national security have reportedly hampered Huawei's ability to secure a multi-billion dollar network modernization contract from Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S). "We'll be working very hard to convince our partners in the United States," he said. "We are a leader in the industry and would obviously like to partner with operators in the U.S."

For more:
- see this Reuters article

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