Over 20 years ago, the global communication is on the starting line of high-speed development. Facing a huge communication industry market opportunity, ZTE, who just began its career, decided to take the heart of communication industry – core network product – digital program controlled switch as a breakthrough point and make independent innovations. Today, as a rapidly developing Chinese strength in the world, ZTE got leaping progress in the competition and is moving towards the leading group. Core network product is the starting point and the motivation.

As the only listed communication equipment manufacturer in both Hongkong and Shenzhen in China, ZTE has become the only core network equipment provider supporting all system in the industry. ZTE provides continuously innovated and refined CN solution and service based on wireless access of GSM/UMTS/CDMA/TD-SCDMA/PHS/WiMAX/LTE/WLAN, and wireline access of PSTN/MSAN/xDSL/xPON/LAN/ intelligent terminal.ZTE obtained over 590 million users around the world, covering more than 80 countries and regions. In the over 20 years’ high-speed communication developing process, ZTE has shared success and delight with operators in the world, and kept the brilliant achievements in record by focusing on users’ needs, providing best quality service, and paying attention to continuous customer value improvement.

As a core part representing the competitiveness in operator’s network, core network products technology and development requirements are far beyond those for ordinary communication products. Facing the challenge, ZTE promoted its self-owned national digital program-controlled switch firstly in Nanjing in 1989. Subsequently it promoted the first NGN commercial network in the world, the new-generation innovative V3 core network platform and integrated IMS solution platform. During the rapid development, ZTE obtained a series of remarkable achievements all around the world. It successfully built the first softswitch commercial office in the world, constructed the largest fixed line softswitch long-distance network in the world, the largest mobile softswitch end office in the world, the first 3G TD-SCDMA core network in the world, the first Ap interface-based CDMA softswitch commercial office, and the largest CDMA softswitch long-distance gateway office in the world. As the biggest brand for Chinese IMS and global-leading IMS solution provider, ZTE constructed the largest IMS commercial network in China, deployed the first “three in one” IMS trial office in the world by integrating WCDMA, CDMA2000 and fixed line, by which a VoIP phone call based on IMS+EVDO RevA was successfully made.

Based on the analysis of Gartner, 2008-2011 will be the time window for high-speed development of core network product. North America, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) will still be the largest market for next-generation core network products. The progress of IMS will urge the operators to focus on the integration of core networks to provide users with Multi-Play multi-media service. Softswitch products increased rate is improved from 45% to 50% in Asia-Pacific in 2007. The needs for network innovation in the future become obvious. In South America and Japan, NGN evolvement has become the main need. Facing the development tendency of global core network market, ZTE proposed COREZ concept – by completely analyzing the core network products the operators need in each perspective of C (convergence), O (open), R (reliable), and E (effective/evolution), ZTE would be able to become the core value partner for operators.

Starting in Nanjing, rapidly developing in Shenzhen, carrying the great expectation of Chinese communication enterprise, ZTE core network products are soaring in the enormous global telecom industry. By providing global operators with professional services in network transformation, construction, evolution and integration, ZTE has become an important partner of the operators all around the world. Experiencing the hard work during these 20 years, ZTE believes that the inner beauty of core network, is the real beauty!
This paper presents successful cases of ZTE core network products. COREZ, value partner!