Chinese kit vendor Huawei has hailed its first major managed services win in the UK, signing-up O2 parent Telefonica UK on a five-year deal.

Under the agreement Huawei will be responsible for "planning and managing the core transmission, mobile access and core network build in the multi-vendor core network."

The deal also sees 56 permanent roles transfer from Telefonica UK to Huawei’s managed services arm.

“Huawei works with Telefonica in a number of markets around the world and today’s agreement means we are extending our relationship to the UK,” said Huawei UK CEO Victor Zhang. “Today’s announcement is an important first step in building a world-class managed services capability in the UK.”

Huawei claims to be the fastest growing managed services provider in the world, with more than 240 contracts in place with operators in more than 60 countries.