Huawei Technologies Co., the nation's largest telecom equipment maker, has added to its growing number of European carrier relationships by signing a letter of intent with German operator Arcor AG & Co. to supply synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) transmission products.

The signing ceremony Saturday was witnessed by China's President Hu Jintao, who was in Germany for a state visit, and German President Horst Koehler.

Under the letter of intent, Shenzhen-based Huawei will provide Arcor, Germany's second-largest fixed-line telecommunication operator, with a new-generation SDH system for all of Germany. The system, featuring flexible networking solutions with diverse functions, will facilitate and support Arcor's fast-growing broadband business.

Arcor regards the cooperation with Huawei as a good start for a long-term partnership, Huawei said in a statement. "Huawei is one of the few suppliers that can provide integrated solutions," Arcor's CEO Harald Stoeber was quoted as saying in the statement.

 "We will leverage our strong R&D experience and innovative capabilities in the SDH arena to help Arcor build up an advanced SDH optical network," said a Huawei spokesman, who added that Huawei feels honored to be doing business with Arcor, a company known for its stringent technical requirements.

In 2001, Huawei set up its first office in Germany, where it has been growing rapidly since 2004.

In the first half of 2005, Huawei was picked as the exclusive supplier to construct a national high-speed optical backbone network for Germany's national R&D network. It also inked a router resale agreement with German incumbent operator Deutche Telekom.

Germany's business broadband operator Quality Service Communications AG is using Huawei's softswitches and media gateways for its planned voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) services.

Telefonica Deutschland is using Huawei's intelligent peripheral digital subscriber line access multiplexers (IP DSLAM) and local partner Vierling Electronics has been delivering contracts from regional and city carriers.

(Shenzhen Daily November 14, 2005)