Huawei Shaking Off Cheap Tag

8:00 AM -- Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. has improved its reputation amongst the carrier community, and is no longer regarded simply as a provider of cheap infrastructure, according to the findings of a survey of network operators in Europe and Asia/Pacific conducted by Infonetics Research Inc. (See Huawei Improves Its Image.)

"Our discussions with mobile operators indicate Huawei is no longer perceived as a seller of cheap products, but rather as having good technology and offering good value for the price," states analyst Stéphane Téral in a press release.

That conclusion matches Huawei's view of how it's now regarded differently in the market. (See Huawei: Everyone Believes in Us.)

The Chinese giant is also putting increasing pressure on its more established rivals. "Huawei is overtaking Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) on many fronts, and is now en route to attacking Nokia Networks ' market position in the mobile infrastructure space," states Téral. "And watch out, because ZTE Corp. (Shenzhen: 000063; Hong Kong: 0763) is on the rise as well."

It's not all bad news for NSN, though: "In an open-ended question asking service providers who they consider to be the top three mobile infrastructure vendors, all respondents named Nokia Siemens Networks," notes Infonetics, while Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC) "received the highest ratings for service and support."

— Ray Le Maistre, International News Editor, Light Reading