15th Feb 2006 07:02
Vodafone Group Plc15 February 2006 15 February 2006 VODAFONE SIGNS STRATEGIC 3G HANDSET PARTNERSHIP WITH HUAWEI Vodafone Group and Huawei Technologies announced today a landmark agreement thatwill see the Chinese manufacturer supply exclusive Vodafone-branded consumer 3Ghandsets for Vodafone across 21 countries for at least 5 years. The handsets will only carry the Vodafone name, the first time the company hasoffered devices branded in this way for the consumer market. The agreementdemonstrates Vodafone's ability to utilise its scale to deliver increasing valueto its customers. The agreement marks Huawei's first significant entry into the European handsetmarket. Vodafone anticipates offering the first Vodafone-branded,Huawei-manufactured handset, a 3G model, in September 2006. Peter Bamford, Chief Marketing Officer, Vodafone Group said: "This agreementwith Huawei shows the cost benefits Vodafone's size and global reach can bringto our customers. We will be able to offer even better 3G phones at morecompetitive prices across our markets." Ping Guo, Senior Vice President of Huawei Technologies said: "This agreementwill enable Huawei to become one of the world's leading players in handsetdevelopment and production. We already have a strong presence in the globalmarket and this agreement offers us a great opportunity to expand into newregions alongside the world's leading mobile community. We consider thepartnership with Vodafone as a sign of the trust they have in the quality of ourresearch and production." - ends- (c) Vodafone Group 2006. VODAFONE, Vodafone live! and the Vodafone logos aretrade marks of the Vodafone Group. Other product and company names mentionedherein may be the trade marks of their respective owners. For further information: Huawei Vodafone Group Media Relations Media RelationsFu Jun Tel: +44 (0) 1635 664444Tel: [email protected] Investor Relations Tel: +44 (0) 1635 664447 About Huawei Technologies Huawei is a leading player in the global telecoms market. Huawei specializes inthe research and development, production, sales and marketing of telecomsequipment. Huawei provides innovative and customized equipment, services andsolutions in different fields across the telecoms industry, and creates longterm value for customers realizing their potential growth. About Vodafone Vodafone is the world's largest mobile community, with equity interests in 27countries and Partner Networks in a further 31 countries, serving over 179million proportionate customers. Vodafone's global consumer service offering,Vodafone live!, opens up a world of mobile colour communication, bringing news,information, email, chat, location-based services, games and shopping tocustomers' mobile devices. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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