IN a further boost to its global expansion, ZTE Corp has won a US$400-million contract to supply mobile phone network equipment to an Indian carrier, China's biggest public telecommunications equipment maker said yesterday.

Under the deal, ZTE will provide GSM (global system for mobile communications) equipment to Aircel, a subsidiary of multinational carrier Maxis Communications. Aircel is India's No. 5 carrier with 110 million users, Shenzhen-based ZTE said in an e-mailed statement.

From 2009 to 2011, Maxis will invest an additional US$4 billion to US$5 billion in the Indian market which boasts the highest growth rate for mobile penetration worldwide.

"Maxis has successful experience involving 3G and the GSM deal will help us get further contracts (with Maxis) in the future," ZTE said.

Chinese telecom firms, including ZTE and Huawei Technologies, have grown rapidly worldwide and gained market share from giants like Ericsson, Nokia, Siemens and Alcatel Lucent. The overseas expansion can help them obtain necessary experience and expertise to compete for home-grown 3G network orders, industry insiders said.

Shenzhen-listed ZTE declined 1.86 percent to close at 21.50 yuan against a 1.86-percent decline in the smaller Shenzhen stock market yesterday.

The drop was attributed to a government policy which forced carriers to share base station sites and some infrastructure to avoid duplication in construction. The policy will also compel the carriers to cut spending, thus affecting income of ZTE and Huawei, industry insiders said.