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February 15, 2006
Vodafone Signs 3G Handset Partnership with Huawei
TMCnet VoIP Minute Watch Columnist
Vodafone Group announced Tuesday that it joined forces with Huawei Technologies to allow the Chinese manufacturer supply exclusive Vodafone-branded consumer 3G handsets for Vodafone across 21 countries for the next five years.
"This agreement with Huawei shows the cost benefits Vodafone's size and global reach can bring to our customers. We will be able to offer even better 3G phones at more competitive prices across our markets," said Vodafone Group's chief marketing officer Peter Bamford.
The handsets will only carry the Vodafone name. This is the first time the company has offered devices branded in this way for the consumer market. This is Huawei's first significant entry into the European handset market. Vodafone anticipates offering the first Vodafone-branded, Huawei-manufactured handset, a 3G model, in September 2006.
"This agreement will enable Huawei to become one of the world's leading players in handset development and production. We already have a strong presence in the global market and this agreement offers us a great opportunity to expand into new regions alongside the world's leading mobile community. We consider the partnership with Vodafone as a sign of the trust they have in the quality of our research and production," noted Ping Guo, senior vice president of Huawei Technologies.
Vodafone made news yesterday when it announced that it is collaborating with Google to develop mobile search services for its customers. The partnership will integrate Google's search capability into Vodafone's consumer service, Vodafone live!, providing customers with the most relevant information, wherever they are and whatever time of day it is.
Google's search results will be delivered through Vodafone's high speed data networks. Combining Vodafone's mobile expertise with Google's search capability will ensure that customers can quickly and easily find what's relevant to them. The new service will offer simultaneous search both on Vodafone live! and the wider Web.
Vodafone Group
Huawei Technologies
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Johanne Torres is contributing editor for TMCnet and Internet Telephony magazine. To see more articles by Johanne Torres, please visit Johanne Torres' columnist page.
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