Maxis, a mobile telecom operator in Malaysia, has entered into a deal with global telecommunications equipment vendor ZTE (News - Alert) to expand Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) coverage in India.

 

As per the terms of the deal worth $400, ZTE will help Aircel, Maxis’ Indian subsidiary, to establish one of the most sophisticated GSM networks in India. With the new contract, ZTE has been set to achieve its three-year goal of increasing sales in India to $1 billion from $100 million. ZTE India is now one of the largest overseas subsidiaries of the Chinese telecom equipment giant.

 

“It is a great opportunity for us to be selected by Maxis to help enhance the GSM network of its subsidiary in India, one of the fastest growing telecom markets in East Asia,” said an official at ZTE. “This agreement has given ZTE a valuable opportunity to contribute our strong expertise and technology to develop GSM infrastructure in the local market.”

 

Indian telecom market has witnessed an exponential growth over a couple of years in the past. The country has got a total 270 million telephone subscribers, 80 percent of which are mobile phone users. However, the total penetration in the country is merely 27 percent. The government is planning to increase the number of telephone subscribers to 500 million by 2010. Having such a huge potential, ZTE finds India a parallel market to China.

 

Aircel is the fifth largest mobile telecom operator in India and one of the best performed privately owned telecom carriers in India, says ZTE. The operator has got more than 11 million users.

 

ZTE has been ranked fourth globally in terms of GSM equipment shipment, the company official said. It has deployed GSM equipment for over 60 operators in more than 50 countries worldwide. This translates into a mobile capacity of more than 150 million lines. Over the past four years, ZTE’s global GSM market share increased more than 100 percent. The company also has a leading market position in the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) arena.

 

“With remarkable breakthrough in our GSM, WCDMA and CDMA businesses, we are confident to expand our business footprint in high-end markets in APAC and Europe,” the official continued.