ZTE Corporation (“ZTE”), a leading global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, has been selected by Maxis, the largest mobile telecom operator in Malaysia to help one of its subsidiaries in India, Aircel, to expand GSM coverage in the country. The deal, which is worth US$400 million, will help Aircel to establish one of the most sophisticated GSM network infrastructures in India.
“It is a great opportunity for us to be selected by Maxis to help enhance the GSM network of its subsidiary in India, one of the fastest growing telecom markets in East Asia. This agreement has given ZTE a valuable opportunity to contribute our strong expertise and technology to develop GSM infrastructure in the local market,” said ZTE executive. “We have been successful in sustaining the strong growth of our wireless business portfolio over the past three quarters. Today, we ranked fourth globally in terms of GSM equipment shipment, while we continue a leading position in the CDMA arena. With remarkable breakthrough in our GSM, WCDMA and CDMA businesses, we are confident to expand our business footprint in high-end markets in APAC and Europe.”
India is one of the markets with the fastest growing mobile user base in the world. Being the fifth largest mobile telecom operator in India, Aircel is also one of the best performed privately-owned telecom carriers in India. The telecom operator currently has more than 11 million users, competing with key players in the local market such as SingTel and Vodafone in targeting the medium to high-end mobile market.
ZTE’s GSM equipment is now deployed by over 60 operators in more than 50 countries worldwide, resulting in the installation of mobile capacity exceeding 150 million lines. From 2003 to 2007, ZTE’s global GSM market share had increased more than 100%. The exceptional performance is attributed to the continuous robustness and expansion of the international GSM market, which the company took advantage of by launching several GSM product marketing campaigns in Asia Pacific. The strategy paid off allowing ZTE to win a number of multi-million deals, especially for its service equipment products.
Currently, the company has applied for over 3,000 GSM patents and is a pioneering member of many international standards organizations such as ETSI, 3GPP and GSA. ZTE ranks among the leading GSM equipment providers in the world, partnering with industry-leading operators including China Mobile, China Unicom, Reliance, Etisalat, Telenor, Hutchison, among others.