China Mobile’s contracts totalled $3.2 billion, and the Chinese vendors took roughly a quarter each, according to Reuters.
Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) are each reported to have secured 10% of the contracts, but winners of the remaining 20% are still unspecified.
An industry source told reporters: “This is the tender that global telecom equipment vendors have been vying for this year.”
Earlier this month, the EU said it was awaiting the outcome of China Mobile’s contract distribution before launching a potentially damaging trade case against Chinese telecoms companies.
Karel De Gucht, trade commissioner for the EU, reportedly said that the case may not go ahead if European vendors are awarded a substantial proportion of the contracts.
These contracts form phase one of a planned $6.7 billion investment in China Mobile’s 4G LTE network and the end result is hoped to connect an estimated 100 cities and 500 million people.
