Chinese telecommunications equipment provider Huawei has furthered its overseas operations, obtaining new contracts in South Africa, the Czech Republic, and Uzbekistan. Telkom South Africa's new WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) network will be built and operated by Huawei, which will also supply related hardware, according to Business Day of South Africa.

Meanwhile, Czech telecom operator Telefonica O2 has awarded Huawei a contract for 3G network expansion and 2G network upgrade. Currently Teleconica O2's provides UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System)/HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access)-based 3G services. By means of Huawei's technological support, Telefonica O2 aims to boost its 3G network coverage to up to 30 Czech towns by year-end 2009 and to approximately 70% population over a period of two to three years, according to Telecompaper of the Netherlands.

Also, Huawei has been chosen by MTS (Mobile TeleSystems), a mobile operator in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, to provide 3G equipment, technical support, and personnel training for MTS's 3G UMTS network in Uzbekistan. The capital Tashkent is expected to see the commercial launch of the 3G network by year-end 2008, which will be extended to the cities of Samarkand, Bukhara, and Andijan in 2009, according to PR Newswire.