Swedish equipment vendor Ericsson said Monday it has won over $550m (£291m) worth of GSM contracts with leading Chinese cellco, China Mobile.

The contracts, which cover expansion projects in 17 regions, have been agreed throughout the first half of the year and deliveries are already underway.

Under the contracts, Ericsson will provide China Mobile with core and radio networks as well as deploying its mobile softswitch Solution. The implementation of softswitches will help future proof the network through China Mobile’s evolution to 3G.

China is widely expected to unveil its 3G licensing strategy sometime this year, with China Mobile expected to receive a license to roll out WCDMA in the country.