Telecommunication equipment sellers suffer slowdown

The world's telecoms equipment vendors are suffering from an industry downturn, and analysts warn the difficult phase is not likely to go away soon.

Telefon AB LM Ericsson, the world's largest telecoms equipment provider, saw its net profit fall 64 percent to 1.11 billion Swedish kronor ($159 million) in the second quarter as operators reined in spending on upgrades to their networks.

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the world's second-largest telecommunications equipment maker by sales, posted a 22 percent fall in first-half operating profit, citing the "significant challenge" of the global economy and the telecoms equipment market. ZTE Corp, posted a 68 percent drop in the first half net profit to 245 million yuan ($38.6 million).