STARHUB has chosen China's biggest telecom equipment supplier, Huawei Technologies, to upgrade its 3G network.

Huawei will provide and support future upgrades of StarHub's network, including its upcoming full-HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access) service, StarHub said in a statement yesterday. (HSDPA is basically a souped-up version of 3G and will give faster connection speeds.)

'The decision to select Huawei Technologies was primarily based on the strength of their progressive 3G technology roadmap,' StarHub said. 'Huawei's technology and experience is expected to help StarHub deliver the full capabilities of HSDPA this year across the island, including an upgrade to 14.4Mbps by year-end.' Nokia, which built StarHub's 3G network, continues to be a supplier, said StarHub spokesman Michael Sim. It is part of operational procedure to use multi-vendor networks, he added.

StarHub has allocated $200 million to develop its 3G network. It launched its 3G service in 2005 and by Q3 2006 it had 128,000 3G customers.

StarHub's head of networks and wholesale, David Storrie, said: 'We have been impressed by Hua wei's 3G technology roadmap, especially their ability to deliver next-generation wireless applications and services quickly. We are confident that Huawei's solutions will help us deliver an enhanced 3G experience for our customers.'

Huawei Wireless Networks president Yu Chengdong said: 'We are thrilled that major operators around the world such as StarHub are turning to Huawei for its advanced solutions, proven scalability, and track record of rapid deployment and customer satisfaction.'

StarHub, Singapore's second-largest telco, is locked in a fight in a fiercely competitive market to increase the speed of 3G services to boost data mobile usage and grow revenue.

New services that take advantage of higher-speed broadband and wireless will help the already saturated Singapore telecom services market grow 3 per cent to US$3.5 billion in 2007, IT research house IDC said last month. The introduction of the new services will also ensure healthy growth for the island's network equipment market, IDC said. It expects equipment sales to rise 7 per cent to US$299.2 million this year, from US$279.2 million last year.

This article first appeared in BT on February 08, 2007