Nokia wins $280M GSM deal in China

Nokia on Friday announced that two of its China-based joint ventures have been awarded a contract valued at $US280 million to expand a digital mobile phone network in China's Henan province.

Beijing Nokia Mobile Telecommunications and Beijing Nokia Hang Xing Telecommunications Systems will supply the Henan Post and Telecommunications Administration (PTA) with network- infrastructure hardware ranging from switching centres to base stations, as well as customer services such as equipment installation, technical support and training, the Finland-based company said in a statement.

The expansion will provide the Henan PTA's GSM (global system for mobile communications) network the capacity for signing up to 4 million subscribers, Nokia said in a statement.

Henan PTA signed up its 1 millionth GSM phone subscriber in October of last year, according to the statement. Nokia has been the network's main equipment supplier since 1995, the company said.