OTE OKs ZTE

11 August, 2004: A Chinese vendor s plans to make a big splash in the European telecoms market have been encouraged by today s award of DSL type acceptance certification from OTE.

OTE has awarded preliminary approval certification for the ZTE-supplied ADSL system installed as part of the Greek operator s network upgrade to support the staging of the Athens Olympic Games. ZTE s general manager in Greece, Ouyang Jian, told telecomredux that OTE was ZTE s first major European operator customer and that the deal was the first in which the Chinese group had sold equipment for use in an Olympic Games. Type approval by OTE is seen as a major boost to ZTE s European credentials.

Given Greece s relatively low broadband penetration, more OTE DSL business could be on the cards for ZTE. Further afield, said Ouyang, a number of other EU markets are now on the ZTE hit list.

ZTE rejects the suggestion that any success in these EU markets will be down to lower equipment development and production costs in China. "You can t win tenders on price alone, especially in Europe", argues Ouyang. "Price is another thing. Maybe you could just say price is an advantage for Chinese companies today".