(Telecompaper) Telefonica and Chinese mobile operator China Unicom have signed a strategic procurement collaboration agreement to select smartphones based on shared specifications at improved economies of scale. The aim is to help both companies deliver improved data services to a broader group of their customers in China, Latin America and Europe. In a statement, the companies said the first joint project has been completed with the purchase of 4G smartphones from the manufacturers Lenovo and TCL, which will be made available in the second half of 2015 in China, Europe and Latin America. The companies described the move as an innovative joint procurement strategy between two leading telecoms operators and agreed to continue working on other joint strategic initiatives.