Under the deal, Huawei will license software from Option, bringing the Flemish company €27 million in the first year. The Chinese company will also buy the Option subsidiary M4S, which is currently developing chips for fourth-generation mobile phones. The agreement comes some weeks after Option lodged a complaint with the European Commission, alleging that the Chinese government was unfairly subsidising manufacturers of wireless modems, such as Huawei. Option has now dropped its complaint, the company announced.

Option's share prices rose 50% following the announcement of an agreement, taking it to the highest level this year. The two companies are said to also be discussing the possibility of building a research and development centre in Belgium.

Belgians pay too much for telecom packages
Belgians are paying on average 50% more than French consumers for "triple play" telecom packages, according to the consumer association Test-Aankoop. The report examined the costs of packages combining TV, phone and internet and found that they cost around €60 per month in Belgium compared to €40 in the case of French provider Alice. The report added that Alice offered subscribers unlimited downloads, whereas most Belgian operators set an upper limit per month.

Meanwhile, Belgacom, one of the two communications giants in Belgium, has promised to treat its customers better by keeping the helpdesk open until 22.00 and at weekends and scrapping reminder costs for customers who are paying late. Technicians will make housecalls in the evening, and warn you by SMS when they're on the way. "Customer service is our new priority," senior Belgacom executive Scott Alcott told the tech website ZDNet.be. "It is the only important aspect in which we don't already shine."