CHINESE NETWORK equipment maker Huawei says it could create up to 150 jobs in Ireland over the next three years if it wins some of the major telecoms networks projects.

Huawei employs 40 staff here and supplies equipment to all the major telecoms operators with the exception of mobile network 3 Ireland. It is tendering for the network upgrade associated with the site and network-sharing deal between O2 and Eircom. Tenders have to be submitted by today.

Huawei hopes to launch an own-branded smartphone in the Irish market next year, says Frank Bai, managing director of Huawei Ireland.

Although not known as a handset maker, Huawei has shipped 120 million smartphones globally, most of which are not sold under its brand name, including the low-end Vodafone Smart.

The rapidly growing company, with 110,000 staff and revenues of $28 billion last year, has had an office in Ireland since 2008. Mr Bai said it wanted to become a major player in telecoms equipment, smartphones and enterprise networking in the local market.

*This article was amended on October 17th, 2011