Chinese equipment supplier Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. landed a deal to deliver CDMA2000 network equipment to Leap Wireless International Inc. for market buildouts in Spokane, Wash.,; Boise, Idaho; and Reno, Nev.
Huawei said it plans to deploy its SoftX3000-Softswitch, Air Bridge BSC6600, UMG8900-Universal Media Gateway and High Capacity BTS 3606, the combination of which Huawei said reduces long-distance backhaul while supporting 1x EV-DO Revision 0 and Revision A technologies.
“We are honored that Huawei has earned an award in the United States from a key carrier such as Leap Wireless,” said Ken Hu, chief of sales and services at Huawei. “We are excited at the long-term prospects associated with this partnership. Huawei will consistently provide innovative and customized products and services to create long-term value and potential growth for Leap.”
Huawei’s contract win with Leap underscores the firm’s market share gains in the uber-competitive wireless infrastructure business. While the low-priced supplier has racked up contracts in several GSM-based markets around the globe, it has struggled to gain the confidence of U.S. operators.
In late July, Motorola Inc. formed a joint venture with Huawei in a move analysts said would boost Motorola’s position relative to competitors L.M. Ericsson and Lucent Technologies Inc. As for Huawei, the partnership gives the Chinese vendor access to Motorola’s clients and network expertise.
“We selected Huawei as a strategic partner based on their successful technical certification in our network, their outstanding product roadmap and our common focus on quality and cost leadership,” stated Glenn Umetsu, executive vice president and chief technical officer of Leap.
The timing of the announcement is also notable since Leap is currently bidding on spectrum in the Federal Communications Commission’s advanced wireless services spectrum auction. If Leap emerges a winner, Huawei could be in line for additional network contracts.
Fellow Chinese equipment maker ZTE Corp. announced a North American deal of its own, having signed an agreement to provide Canadian operator Telus Mobility with CDMA EV-DO data cards. The company said the first batch of cards has already been shipped and will be available in major Canadian cities this month.
Ye Weimin, vice president of ZTE, said the agreement is the first step of cooperation between ZTE and Telus.
