Vodafone in own-brand phone deal

The handsets will be branded solely as "Vodafone", the first time Vodafone has offered devices branded in this way for the consumer market. The agreement demonstrates Vodafone's ability to utilise its scale to deliver increasing value to its customers.

The agreement marks Huawei's first significant entry into the European handset market. Vodafone anticipates offering the first Vodafone branded, Huawei manufactured handset, a 3G model, in September 2006.

Peter Bamford, Chief Marketing Officer, Vodafone Group: "This agreement with Huawei shows the cost benefits Vodafone's size and global reach can bring to our customers. We will be able to offer even better 3G phones at more competitive prices across our markets."

Ping Guo, Senior VP of Huawei said: "This agreement will enable Huawei to become one of the world's leading players in handset development and production. We already have a strong presence in the global market and this agreement offers us a great opportunity to expand into new regions alongside the world's leading mobile community.We consider the partnership with Vodafone as a sign the trust they have in the quality of our research and production." www.vodafone.com