In a move that should the world's top handset vendors nervous, Vodafone Group has signed a global supply deal with Chinese vendor Huawei Technologies for exclusive low-priced Vodafone-branded 3G handsets. Huawei has been making some impressive headway internationally, increasing sales by 110 percent to nearly $5 billion in 2005, according to the vendor. Huawei's deal also represents a strategy we are starting to see employed by Chinese vendors: to establish a beachhead in Western Europe through a loss-leading strategy.
For more about Huawei's deal with Vodafone:
- read this article from Dow Jones