Tata Teleservices has awarded a 3G network contract to Huawei – the first deal the vendor has picked up in India since the government lifted restrictions on purchasing Chinese telecom gear.
Huawei will deploy 3G equipment in five of the nine circles for which Tata Tele has acquired spectrum. A deal for the remaining four circles has been awarded to NSN.
The contract follows a managed services model, and will involve the installation of equipment including Huawei's LTE-ready SingleRAN MSRs.
“We will ensure a rapid rollout of TTL's 3G network, enabling them to not only capitalize on the current broadband 3G demand but also future-proof their investments by making the rollout LTE ready,” Huawei India CEO Max Yang said in a statement.
The contract is a sign that Indian operators are starting to spend once more on network equipment after a freeze on buying foreign telecom gear since early this year.
It s the first major telecom contract for a Chinese vendor announced since India cleared operators to purchase equipment from foreign supplier, after a long informal ban on the practice.
Reliance has been cleared to order equipment from ZTE, but no deal has been announced.
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