We're Ready to Enrich the World with ZTE Products and Services

An interview with Fan Qingfeng, executive vice president of ZTE Corporation

During the year 2010, cloud computing, M2M, LTE, mobile Internet, and tri-network convergence are in the spotlight. Although some of these technologies are still in the concept stage, they are attractive because of their potential to being enormous communication benefits. Complex businesses are underpinned by strong networks and green networking is the most practical way of dealing with difficulties arising from decreasing resources. To survive and develop, suppliers have to improve their capabilities.

As the New Year rings in, we interview Fan Qingfeng, executive vice president of ZTE Corporation. Fan Qingfeng is responsible for global marketing and sales and shares his views on the prospects of wireless technologies, engineering services, green revolution, and customer services.

Reporter: LTE is now widely seen as the evolution path for wireless networks. Could you tell us about ZTE’s progress on LTE and its successful commercial cases?

Fan Qingfeng: Without question, LTE will be the investment trend of the future.  ZTE is continually expanding investments into LTE and its future evolution. We have nearly 4000 R&D staff in Xi’an, Nanjing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Europe, and America working on 4G. LTE R&D accounts for 40% of our total investments in the wireless sector. ZTE has worked with global operators to positively push LTE commercialization and has deployed 12 LTE commercial networks and 65 trial networks in Europe, America, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East.

Our cooperation with Hong Kong’s CSL to launch an LTE network was a great success. Hong Kong’s population density, skyscraper forest, and clustered CBD make for an extremely complicated wireless environment. Constructing large-scale wireless networks there is challenging. However, with strong support from CSL, and with our engineering experience and technological research capabilities, we succeeded in deploying the world’s first LTE/DC-HSPA+ commercial network. We are proud of this accomplishment. Data traffic in CSL’s network has increased 65 fold, and now comprises 80% of total network traffic. The network covers 50% of Hong Kong’s population. LTE/DC-HSPA+ is the best model for accommodating both 3G and 4G networks. This network will lead CSL into a new era of mobile broadband for business and entertainment and will put Hong Kong at the forefront of global telecommunications innovation. It is a pacesetter in the industry in terms of the complexity of the wireless environment and technology of choice. 

ZTE also leads in LTE innovation. As of November 2010, ZTE held 235 essential patents for LTE, 7% share of the total LTE essential patents declared on the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) online database of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). This is quite an achievement because it indicates we now have more say in topics concerning LTE.

We are also aware that LTE is never a simple wireless network upgrade but is revolutionary for user experience and requires changes to be made to terminal, access, bearer, core network, and service applications. Operators are concerned about whether equipment vendors can provide total and integrated solutions when constructing an LTE network. With a flexible and robust SDR platform, a series of access and bearer products, the industry's largest capacity core network platform, and strong terminal customization capabilities, ZTE is an ideal partner for LTE construction. We have deployed more than 100 SDR-based wireless networks worldwide. Every one of these networks supports evolution to LTE. We are very confident that our LTE products will maintain their leading status well into the future.

R: As the global economy develops and operators raise their expectations, telecom engineering projects are becoming increasingly complicated. More and more importance is being placed on engineering services and project delivery. How do you view ZTE’s capability in these areas? What level is ZTE at in terms of worldwide project delivery?

Fan: As the global telecom sector grows, and market competition escalates, operators expect much more from their equipment and service suppliers. The range and content of project delivery is changing. We continue to expand our services from equipment installation, debugging, and maintenance at the earliest stage, to full turnkey project delivery, managed services, and professional services. Our professional services include network planning and optimization, maintenance and repair, communication guarantee, and security consultation. The technology gap among equipment suppliers is narrowing, and engineering services and project delivery are an increasingly important area of differentiation. Quality project delivery can give an operator the advantage of quick entry into a market while excellent services allow an operator effective control over OPEX and CAPEX. These enhance profitability and core competitiveness for an operator and determine the success of an operator’s brand.

ZTE is devoted to providing its partners with fast, high quality end-to-end project delivery. We offer industry-leading custom-made turnkey solutions, helping operators lower their Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and increase their Return On Investment (ROI). To enhance logistics efficiency, we have built a complete global logistics network with several cargo transfer centres. This makes it possible to deliver quick and agile services in response to market fluctuations. Currently, we have more than 10,000 experienced engineers and technicians, over 1,600 Project Manager (PM) experts, and over 3,000 contracted partners around the world. We have the ability to set up a professional project delivery team at short notice. Moreover, we have built up a state-of-the-art project management system that allows for seamless integration of headquarters systems and distributed clients and enables visualized project management.

ZTE is a well-established service brand. With cutting-edge expertise and professional and integrated service capability, ZTE is helping its operators build their network brands and quickly add to their commercial value. We completed China’s 3G project in the shortest time and ranked highest in KPI tests. We worked with CSL to build the world’s fastest 3G network in Hong Kong and achieved the best scores in KPI tests. We cooperated with Ncell in deploying 3G stations at the world’s highest point in Nepal and completed the project one month ahead of schedule. We also accomplished a number of overseas network construction projects that have been highly recognized by KPN, Telenor, Teliasonera, Etisalat, Telefonica, and Telstra.

ZTE is qualified to build networks in complicated environments around the world. End-to-end delivery is the fourth trump card we have in conjunction with customization, cost leadership, and Chinese capital. It will become one of our core competitive advantages and a major contributor to ZTE’s scale and profitability. It will help us achieve our objective of world-class excellence by 2015.

R: Green networking, carbon reduction, and energy conservation are developmental trends in the IT industry. They are also important proof that enterprises are fulfilling their social responsibilities. What ideas and plans does ZTE have in the area of environmental responsibility?

Fan: ZTE has always taken sustainable development and corporate social responsibility seriously. We spare no effort in promoting green management, green culture, green production, and green value chain. “Innovation, convergence, and green” are key in ZTE’s three major developmental strategies. As for green strategies, we have put in place an effective mechanism for uniform management and implementation. All product lines and business units have a team dedicated to energy conservation and emissions reduction. We have set environmental KPI targets for all major products and key business activities, and they are included in annual performance evaluations.

Our green strategy has been fully implemented in all major production and operational activities. Energy conservation is a key component of our green strategy, and emissions reduction is now a driving force for our product and technology innovation. We have incorporated these into the whole process of planning, design, R&D, manufacturing, and logistical support of our products.

For example, we currently provide a variety of competitive power supply solutions including independent solar power, hybrid solar-diesel power, hybrid solar-wind power, and hybrid solar-wind-diesel power. These solutions are applied with careful regard to local climate and weather conditions. We have delivered solar-powered solutions to more than 40 operators in over 20 countries. In 2010, we successfully deployed eight 3G base stations on Mt. Everest using our custom-made, integrated green power solutions in the harsh natural environment. All energy supplied to these base stations comes from solar power, which ensures reliable operation 365 days a year without the need for electricity.

We have also adopted energy efficiency measures for administration management. E-office helps improve work efficiency, and video conferencing reduces the need for business trips. In production and logistics, we have set up a special team for green materials management. This team is responsible for studying and implementing the Restriction of Hazardous Substance (RoHS) directive and REACH regulations. We achieved QC080000 HS management system certification in 2010 and successfully established a complete HS control procedure involving spare parts purchasing, product manufacturing, storage, and distribution. This satisfies the requirements of green product shipment and delivery.

Also, we have been actively engaged with international environmental organizations and have won many awards for green innovation. Our broadband universal access system ZXDSL FSAP 9806H was awarded the prestigious “Best Green Innovation” award at Convergence World 2008 at SOFTNET England. The ZXDSL FSAP 9806H has low power consumption, low noise, high reliability, and high integrational capacity. In February 2009, ZTE became a member of the United Nations Global Compact.

R: What do you think about building customer relationships in the current telecom environment? What kind of relationship is ZTE looking to build with global operators?

Fan: Traditional business models of telecom operators are being challenged in the current environment. Telecom, IT, media, and entertainment industries are all interacting with each other and full-service operation has become a new trend for growth in global markets. In these circumstances, building customer relationships also confronts new challenges. We have to provide state-of-art products and solutions and satisfactory project delivery, but we are also expected to think differently about building customer relationships.

First and foremost, we need to listen to customer needs. Operators are looking for new technologies, new markets, and new sources of profit. Network equipment suppliers should analyze these needs seriously, offer solutions to issues of concern, and introduce new avenues for creating profit. Building customer relationships involves building trust and gaining recognition from our customers. We need to fulfil every promise we make and deliver more than expected. Customer relationship building does not succeed if customers lose faith in us. I hope we can grow with our customers through cooperation. By continually lowering TCO, we help operators increase network ARPU. By providing quality network coverage, we help operators enhance customer satisfaction and expand their subscriber base. Hong Kong’s CSL, South Africa’s Cell C, and TELIASONERA’s UCell have successfully partnered with ZTE for win-win cooperation. We hope to establish strategic partnerships and mutually beneficial relationships with our customers so that we can develop together.

R: What is ZTE’s development strategy for the future global marketplace?

Fan: We are trying to offer quality telecom products and services to operators, governments, and enterprises around the world. We put much value on the real needs of our customers in providing integrated solutions, effective project delivery, and satisfactory customer service. Thanks to these capabilities, we continually improve customer satisfaction, and can establish strategic partnerships with operators worldwide, especially mainstream operators. Globally, we will continue to enhance our in-depth operation in emerging markets and spare no effort in extending into high-end European and American markets. We will also focus our attention on government and enterprise networks. In 2010, our terminal products experienced rapid growth with a significant 40% increase in shipment and over 100% increase for the European and American market. We will develop more smartphones and completely enhance our competitiveness.

All in all, we are committed to providing customers with satisfactory information services by continuing to improve our innovation, by following up on market requirements, and by prospecting future technological advances and evolution. We are prepared to furnish the world with ZTE products and services and contribute to global information development.