China Unicom orders 40,000 3G smartphones from ZTE

Sep. 11, 2009 (China Knowledge) - China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd<600050><0762>, the country's second-largest telecom operator, Thursday placed an order to buy 40,000 3G smartphones from ZTE Corp<000063><0763>, sources reported.

ZTE yesterday showcased a complete line of WCDMA terminals at a procurement fair for the North China market and received China Unicom's orders for its X60 high-end smartphones.

The full-touch X60 smartphone has a 3.2-inch screen, 5 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi function and GPS. 

China Unicom is set to officially launch 3G commercial services on Sept. 28. It has already built 3G networks in 268 Chinese cities and plans to expand its 3G services to 335 cites by the end of the year.

The Chinese government plans to invest US$58.5 billion in 3G mobile network construction through 2011 after issuing 3G licenses to its top three telecom carriers in January.

The three telecom giants, China Mobile Ltd<0941>, China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd and China Telecom Corp Ltd<0728>, invested RMB 80 billion in the telecom industry in the first half of this year to boost the 3G networks.