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Huawei bulks up for SA VHA overhaul

Chinese network technology company Huawei has revealed that it's planning to recruit 50 new employees in Adelaide as the company begins upgrading Vodafone's mobile network across South Australia.
Written by Josh Taylor, Contributor

Chinese network technology company Huawei has revealed that it's planning to recruit 50 new employees in Adelaide as the company begins upgrading Vodafone's mobile network across South Australia.

As Huawei begins the task of replacing 5800 Vodafone base stations and adding a further 2200 Australia-wide, the company plans to open an office in Adelaide to work with Vodafone on the upgrade.

"South Australia will play an increasingly important role in Huawei's local business, particularly as we work with Vodafone in deploying mobile network upgrades across the state," Huawei corporate and public affairs director Jeremy Mitchell said. "Opening a new office in Adelaide will not only give us an established base for the Vodafone roll-out, but will also allow Huawei to engage with new business opportunities in the state."

Huawei said that the roles would be focused on the upgrade for Vodafone and could not guarantee that they would be permanent positions.

"While the new positions created will initially be focused on the VHA network deployment, it is likely that a number of those positions will remain in place after the completion of the contract," Huawei told ZDNet Australia. "The office will be established to work with Vodafone staff and subcontractors on the network upgrades, but will also support ongoing business opportunities in South Australia in the longer term."

The announcement was made as SA Premier Mike Rann paid a visit to Huawei's R&D centre in Shanghai today.

"This is great news for South Australia's growing communications technology industries," Rann said. "As a state, we have been committed to strengthening our links with China, and today's announcement by Huawei further builds on those ties."

Huawei is planning to double its workforce from 300 to 600 by the end of 2011, and recently announced plans to create an Australian board of directors.

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