Indian mobile operator Reliance is to award equipment manufacturer Huawei a multi-million dollar contract to build-out its GSM network following a deal with China Development Bank to help fund the project. India’s Business Standard reports that the operator has secured a US$750 million loan from the bank to fund the project as part of a total investment of US$1 billion. Reliance is currently India’s largest CDMA operator but has recently won licenses to rollout GSM on a nationwide basis. The operator expects to launch GSM services by the end of this year.

In separate news, Huawei has entered into a partnership with Optus – Australia’s second-largest mobile operator – to build an innovation centre in Sydney as part of a 50:50 joint venture. According to local press reports, the two companies will use the facility to develop commercially viable, next-generation mobile and mobile broadband equipment. Known as the ‘Mobile Innovation Centre,’ the facility aims to be up and running by August this year.