ASB also has won contracts to deploy NGN (next generation network) networks from China Netcom, the country's No 2 fixed-line carrier, in Beijing, Tianjin and Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

Dega expects ASB to grab an even larger share of China's telecoms equipment market, after the Alcatel-Lucent merger and the acquisition of the 3G (third generation) UMTS business of Canada's Nortel Networks.

ASB will be the only telecoms equipment maker to have all three standards for 3G telephony, which could put the firm at an advantageous position in China's future 3G market.

The three standards include the Europe-initiated WCDMA, known as UMTS, US-backed CDMA 2000 and China's home-grown TD-SCDMA.

Alcatel previously controlled a 17 per cent share of the global UMTS market, and Lucent is devoted to developing CDMA 2000. The merger could complement both companies in their 3G businesses, enabling the combined operations to inherit the two firms' traditional advantages, Dega said.

Lucent's China operations formerly focused on CDMA and PHS (personal handyphone system), a limited mobility service.

The Alcatel-Lucent merger could expand the company's R&D capabilities in China. After the merger, the new operations in China will have 10,000 employees with half working on R&D activities, as well as two manufacturing sites in Shanghai and Qingdao.

Alcatel was one of the first foreign companies committed to supporting TD-SCDMA. In 2004, ASB announced it would partner with China's Datang Mobile to jointly develop TD-SCDMA technology.

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