24 February 2018, Shenzhen, China - ZTE Corporation (0763.HK / 000063.SZ), a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions for the Mobile Internet wins the 2017 Market Development Award for its outstanding performance in 5G and Pre5G markets at Global TD-LTE Initiative (GTI) Award Ceremony held in Barcelona.This award highly recognizes ZTE's achievements in expanding 5G marketing and commercial deployments in Pre5G.

As an influential organization in the TDD and 5G industry, the GTI is committed to building a global industrial platform for TDD and 5G as well as a prosperous industrial ecosystem.

By the end of 2017, ZTE had worked with more than 20 world-renowned high-end operators on 5G cooperation and tests to advance 5G commercialization.

In China, ZTE proactively participated in the phase 3 national 5G test and worked with the three major Chinese operators to conduct 5G experiments. ZTE joined China Mobile in establishing 5G field trial sites, put the world’s first 5G low-frequency pre-commercial site into operation, and tested 5G network architecture. ZTE also worked with China Unicom to establish the first 5G NR new air interface field test site in Shenzhen and completed relevant service verification. It also partnered with China Telecom to conduct the first 5G pre-commercial tests in Xiong’an and Suzhou.

In Europe, ZTE collaborated with Italy’s largest mobile operator, Wind Tre and Italy’s leading wireline operator, Open Fiber to build Europe's first pre-commercial 5G network and a global network. ZTE also worked with Telefonica to complete 5G network architecture and bearer tests, and the two companies will continue to verify end-to-end 5G solutions in 2018.

ZTE also helped speed up 5G commercialization in other countries and regions, maturing 5G industrial chain. For instance, ZTE worked with Qualcomm and China Mobile to complete the world’s first end-to-end system test based on the 3GPP R15 standard. This marked a milestone for 5G new air interface technologies to evolve towards massive commercial use, promoting the growth of the terminal industry and the 5G network meeting 3GPP standards. It also enables the 5G network to boast ultra-high bandwidth and zero waiting time.

ZTE has launched a series of products for 5G commercial use, including 5G access devices covering high and low frequency bands, diversified 5G bearer solutions, and the flexible and highly efficient 5G core network. These ZTE 5G products showed superb performance during pre-commercial tests and that ZTE is prepared to implement massive 5G commercial use for operators in 2019.

With leading Pre5G technologies, ZTE is propelling the global commercial use of the overall 5G-like network. By the end of 2017, ZTE had deployed over 110 networks in more than 60 countries worldwide. In 2014, ZTE was the first in the world to propose Pre5G Massive MIMO, put this core 5G technology into commercial use in the 4G era. Pre5G Massive MIMO enables users to experience 5G services in advance, with network performance comparable to 5G.

In ten years, the Pre5G network will serve as a mainstream network co-existing with the 5G network. The global application of Pre5G not only benefits existing 4G users, but also provides future 5G commercial deployment with valuable reference.

“The GTI is the world's largest TD-LTE industry association, and we are quite excited to win the 2017 Market Development Award, which fully recognizes our efforts in 5G market expansion and Pre5G commercial deployments,” said Dr. Han Gang, Vice President of ZTE TDD&5G Products. “ZTE will continuously work with GTI partners to promote TD-LTE and 5G industrial development.”

Leading 5G innovations, ZTE has entered into 5G cooperation and carried out tests with more than 20 well-known high-end operators across the globe. In the future, ZTE will continue to work with its partners in steadily promoting 5G tests and accelerating 5G commercial use worldwide in a bid to provide diverse 5G experiences.