NEC & Siemens claim 18 3G wins in Europe
By Husna Naujeer, Total Telecom
25 June 2001
Japan's NEC and Siemens have won joint contracts with 18 European mobile phone operators to supply third-generation wireless infrastructure.
The companies have been working together on the development and sales of third-generation equipment for the past two years.
Under the agreement, each operator will buy infrastructure equipment under separate contracts. The contracts include a transaction with Hutchinson 3G UK, under which NEC was the prime contractor, and further contracts with operators in Spain, Portugal, the U.K. and Germany. Revenues from the contracts, which will not involve the sale of handsets, will be split jointly between NEC and Siemens, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The contracts could help NEC meet its goal of tripling its sales of third-generation equipment this year, Yoshiaki Ureshi, assistant general manager at NEC's international wireless group, told the WSJ. But he declined to comment on the value. However, a spokesperson said the company is on course to meet targets of 150 billion yen to 160 billion yen (US$1.20 billion to $1.29 billion) in the year ending March 31. Sales in the previous fiscal year reached 50 billion yen.
NEC is offering its equipment for third-generation trials in China, South Korea, Thailand and Singapore, an NEC spokeswoman told Bloomberg. This is apparently because "it's still too early for Asian operators [outside Japan] to decide on 3G vendors," Ureshi told the WSJ. |
