Shenzhen: Chinese telecom solutions provider Huawei Technologies is upbeat on the emerging opportunity for 3G networks in India spanning the network equipment, applications and handsets.

The company is in the process of expanding its R&D capability in India encompassing next-generation networks, optical technologies and new platforms.

Huawei believes that India, like some of the markets in the Asia Pacific region such as Japan, Korea, and China, does not have legacy infrastructure, making it that much easier for it to transition to next-generation technologies.

This is also one of the main reasons why the region is witness to much faster technology adoption and is in some ways ahead of some of the Western markets, according to Eric Xu (Zhijun), Senior Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer of Huawei technologies Co Ltd.

High-speed potential

Xu said 3G could address India quest for high speed Internet access as it prepares for the rollout of 3G networks.

The Indian telecom market is now at a stage where the Chinese mobile network market was about five years ago. However, there is potential for rapid deployment of 3G networks where Huawei can play a much important role partnering various telecom carriers, he said.

Speaking at the company corporate headquarters in the special economic zone of Shenzhen, Xu said the broadband penetration in the Indian market was relatively low but with operators looking to deploy these new networks, many of them would directly move on to accessing information on their mobile phones.

On India manufacturing plans for Huawei, Xu said: We are actively observing the fast growing Indian telecom market and based on the business potential and market needs, we expect to take a decision on the manufacturing facility.

"Globally, we partner with the likes of Vodafone, to whom we supply both network equipment and UMTS handsets. And we expect to carry this association to the Indian market too. Already we partner Tata Indicom and Reliance Infocomm and supply for other operators in their quest to deploy technologies to offer Internet protocol TV (IPTV) and 3G networks for voice, data, and video,"he said.

Mobile internet

Carriers are looking at providing mobile Internet and the technology will play a role in improving handset capability to access Internet on mobile phones.

Huawei partners some of the leading companies in Europe, offering them mobile internet access solutions and UMTS handsets, he said.

"We have collaborations with BSNL and MTNL and are in parleys with several telecom carriers in India on their plans to expand operations. Being an end-to-end technology solutions provider, including terminals, Huawei believes that our partnership will be a natural extension as they grow their networks to support new applications such as optical networks and IPTV,"he explained.

"For example, association with companies like Vodafone and Telefonica, where Huawei partners to deploy new applications and help in value creation. We would enable them to choose a specific technology that supports them in the long run. This is necessary as there is ongoing debate on which technology is better - WiMax or HSPA (high speed packet access),"he said.

R&D expansion

Huawei, which has a large research and development centre in Bangalore, now plans to expand with its own facility.

The company has thus far invested about $200 million and plans to deploy $100 million more in expansion.

"Huawei has solutions for providing telecom services in rural areas and extensively deployed them in unreachable tracts in China. These serve up to 50 km. We are in discussions with Indian operators to offer them wireless base terminals to help bridge digital divide,"he explained. (By V. Rishi Kumar )