New Indian mobile operator Unitech Wireless has awarded GSM equipment contracts worth US$400 million to Alcatel-Lucent and Huawei, reports India’s Financial Express. The report claims Unitech – 67 percent-owned by Norway’s Telenor – will award the two equipment vendors contracts worth US$200 million each to build its new network. According to sources, the contracts will include the outsourcing of services such as network design, installation and network management, as well as network kit. None of the companies involved have confirmed the story. However, the report notes that Unitech awarded an IT outsourcing contract to Indian software firm Wipro last week estimated to be worth around INR2,500 crore (US$509 million). The operator has GSM licenses in all 22 of India’s telecoms circles and plans to launch services later this year.

In separate news, Telecompaper reports that Telenor has strengthened its position in the Danish mobile market via the DKK93 million (US$17 million) acquisition of local mobile service provider BiBoB. The deal will give Telenor another 69,000 mobile customers in Denmark, where it already operates the country’s second-largest mobile operator, Sonofon. The report adds that BiBoB will remain a separate brand focusing on low-cost mobile services, and notes that the acquisition does not require approval from the Danish competition authority.