Three, the mobile telecoms group, has awarded the management of its core network in the UK to Huawei, the Chinese equipment maker, in the latest sign of the shift of business in the sector to Asian rivals.
Under a contract valued at about £120m over five years, Huawei will deliver service management and operations for Three’s core network in the UK, the transport network and the information and communication technology applications.
The contract had previously been held by Sweden’s Ericsson, which has seen a gradual erosion of its once dominant market share in segments of the telecom equipment industry over the past five years following the arrival of Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei and ZTE.