Report: Huawei is a finalist for Clearwire infrastructure deal

Chinese vendor Huawei has been looking to make some major inroads in the U.S. market and may do so via a major WiMAX contract with Clearwire. The Wall Street Journal is reporting Huawei is a finalist for an infrastructure contract with the WiMAX operator, competing against Motorola, Nokia Siemens Networks and Samsung Electronics. Clearwire, however, is anticipated to grant more than one contract.

Huawei has already won a contract to supply gear for a cellular phone service cable provider Cox Communications is preparing to launch later this year. The Clearwire contract would be significant for Huawei, which has been looking to establish a stronger presence in the North American market. Huawei has been bullish on its prospects for 2009, and has said it expects to close infrastructure deals worth up to $30 billion during the year.   

Clearwire has said it will launch its Clear-branded mobile WiMAX service in at least eight markets in 2009. By the end of 2010, Clearwire expects to have a network that covers 120 million POPs, with service in Boston, Houston, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

For more:
- check out the WSJ [1] (sub. req.)

Related articles:
Clearwire [2] will launch at least eight markets in 2009
Huawei [3] seeks $30B in deals in 2009
Huawei [4] gearing up for North American expansion
The pros and cons of Clearwire [5]
New Clearwire [6] announces 'Clear' brand
Intel: Clearwire [7] has sufficient capital