Huawei wins Vivo GSM deal

Chinese equipment vendor Huawei received a boon from Spanish carrier Telefonica Monday, when it bagged the contract to roll out a GSM overlay on Brazilian subsidiary Vivo’s network.

Brazilian operator Vivo thumbed its nose at the CDMA fraternity last month with the announcement that it is to deploy a GSM/WCDMA network overlay.

Vivo, which is 50 per cent owned by Portugal Telecom and 50 per cent owned by Telefonica Moviles, operates a CDMA network at present and leads the Brazilian market.

The project entails constructing GSM networks for the most economically developed states along the coastline in Brazil, including Rio de Janeiro, Espirito Santo, Parana, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. Thousands of Huawei’s Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) will be deployed in the first phase of the contract, outfitted with equipment that is capable of smooth evolution to 3G.

Vivo is not turning its back on CDMA, the operator said it will “continue in full operation and expansion” of its existing network technology.