In Brief: Huawei gets first major Japanese 3G contract

A new Japanese 3G data network operator has tapped China’s Huawei Technologies Co. to supply a large part of its planned 3G network, the companies said this week.

EMobile  is one of two companies that won licenses to launch new nationwide cellular networks and is due to begin a data service in mid-2007. The service will be based on WCDMA (wideband code division multiple access) HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access) technology.

Huawei will build a major part of the eMobile network in northern Japan covering cities including Sendai and Sapporo. Earlier this year eMobile tapped Sweden’s Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson to build the network in a large area of Japan from Tokyo in the east, past Nagoya in the center to Osaka in the west.