ZTE wins Light Reading's Leading Lights Award 2025 for C+L full-band integrated OTN

• The accolade underscores ZTE's leadership in optical network innovation and further strengthens its competitive edge in the global telecommunications industry
• ZTE has pioneered the C+L Full-band Integrated OTN solution, with system capacity 25% higher than that of traditional solutions

Shenzhen, China, September 12, 2025 - ZTE Corporation (0763.HK / 000063.SZ), a global leading provider of information and communication technology solutions, has been named the winner of Light Reading's 21^st Leading Light Awards for the "Most Innovative New Networking Product (Service Provider Network)".

Light Reading's Leading Lights is the communications industry's most prestigious honor recognizing top companies, products, teams and executives for outstanding achievement in next-generation telecommunications technology, services, strategies and innovations. This year's program attracted entries from numerous top-tier global companies and their innovative achievements, and ZTE stood out thanks to its C+L Full-band Integrated OTN solution—an acknowledgment that reflects the industry's high recognition of ZTE's innovative strength in optical network technology.

Today, with the rapid development of global digital services such as big data and artificial intelligence, network traffic is experiencing explosive growth, placing immense transmission pressure and higher development demands on optical network. To address these industry challenges, ZTE has pioneered the C+L Full-band Integrated OTN solution. Leveraging an innovative architecture that integrates the C band and L band, the solution features a 12THz spectral width and supports 400G/800G/1.6T per wavelength, enabling terabit-level transmission per fiber. Its system capacity is 25% higher than that of traditional solutions, fully meeting the high-speed and large-capacity transmission needs of massive services in scenarios like the AI era and data center interconnection.

Meanwhile, the solution supports seamless, non-blocking scheduling of any wavelength across the full band, achieving zero wavelength waste and a 100% increase in resource utilization. It also boasts second-level fast switching capabilities, allowing flexible adaptation to dynamic changes in services. Additionally, the C+L full-band integrated pluggable optical modules are 60% smaller in size and reduce power consumption by 68% per Gbit, significantly saving data center space and energy while simplifying operation and maintenance management.

This award not only showcases ZTE's leading position in the field of optical network technology innovation but also further solidifies its advantages in the global communications industry competition. In the future, ZTE will continue to increase R & D investment, continuously promote the innovation and development of communication technology, and provide more high - quality network products and solutions to global service providers and users.

Light Reading is an independent B2B digital media platform providing daily news, analysis and insights for the global communications industry.