Belgium-based wireless Internet-access equipment maker Option has announced it has withdrawn its anti-dumping and anti-subsidy charges against imports of wireless/mobile Internet-access devices mainly from China-based Huawei Technologies and ZTE, and begun cooperation with Huawei. This has disappointed makers in Taiwan who originally hoped to cooperate with Option to compete with Huawei and ZTE in Europe, according to industry sources.
Option, in line with its withdrawal of the complaints, has asked the Belgian government to withdraw its safeguard request and the European Commission to end all investigations concerned. Option and Huawei have agreed on cooperation mainly covering joint R&D projects, Option's licensing of its connection manager software to Huawei for one year at a royalty fee of 27 million euro (US$37.4 million) and a possible extension of the license for 18 months at an additional 33 million euro. In addition, Huawei will in principle acquire Option's wholly-owned subsidiary developer of next-generation RF chipsets for use in 4G devices, M4S, at about eight million euro.
Taiwan-based makers hold an opinion that Huawei used a wise strategy of using money to remove obstacles in its way to tapping the Europe market, the industry sources pointed out. The anti-dumping and anti-subsidy charges may not be upheld, but will negatively influence Huawei's image among telecom carriers in Europe. Even if the charges are upheld, the imposition of anti-dumping taxes will not substantially impede Huawei's price competition and may not benefit Option in the Europe market, the sources analyzed.
Huawei has offered price-competitive COE (central office equipment) and CPE (customer premises equipment) in bundles to win adoption by many mobile telecom carriers in Europe, while Taiwan-based makers of CPE have to seek partnerships with international COE vendors such as Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks and Alcatel-Lucent for competition, implying that Taiwan-based makers are at a disadvantage in Europe, the sources pointed out.
Article translated by Adam Hwang
