Huawei Throws 3G Gauntlet
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GENEVA -- ITU Telecom World 2003 -- Chinese equipment vendor Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. launched its UMTS 3G base station here at Telecom World 2003, boasting that it could match its western rivals technically and win carrier contracts in China and overseas.
The vendor, well known for its running battle in the fixed world with Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO - message board) (see Cisco/Huawei Lawsuit on Hold ), says it already has its product in pre-commercial mobile networks in Russia, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as on its home turf.
Huawei says it is "very confident" of winning contracts from operators awarded universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) 3G licenses in China, according to Huawei spokesman Richard Lee. If it did, it could snatch away business from the more established wireless infrastructure players such as LM Ericsson (Nasdaq: ERICY - message board), Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK - message board), Nortel Networks Corp. (NYSE/Toronto: NT - message board), and Siemens AG (NYSE: SI - message board; Frankfurt: SIE), all of which are looking for sales in China, which now has the most mobile phone users on the planet (see Siemens Prepares for China Deal ). [Ed. note: the most tea drinkers, too!]
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