Chinese vendor Huawei is said to be a strong contender in the race to sign a deal with Australian mobile network operator Optus, which is looking to award a nationwide 4G network construction contract. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Huawei is in line to emerge with all or part of the AUD2 billion (USD2.08 billion) contract, with the operator having already trialled equipment from the Chinese vendor in its Long Term Evolution (LTE) network.