28 June 2017, Shenzhen, China – ZTE Corporation (0763.HK / 000063.SZ), a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions for the Mobile Internet, today announced at Mobile World Congress (MWC) Shanghai the launch of a live 5G field test in Guangdong, deployed with China Mobile, and showcasing an enhanced 5G Mobile Broadband (eMBB) user experience scenario to the world.

The ultra-high rate in low-frequency 5G network coverage was demonstrated live at the show. At the 100 MHz bandwidth, the single-user rate reached 2Gbps.

China Mobile and ZTE conducted the 5G field test in Guangzhou University Town, which is one of the most typical high-traffic scenarios and also a key ‘pilot field’ for enhancing user experience in 5G eMBB scenarios. ZTE's 3.5GHz NR base station product was used in the 5G field test in Guangzhou. For the next stage, multi-site networking tests will be deployed to test wireless coverage, throughput, mobility, delay, and other 5G network indicators.

As one of China Mobile’s strategic 5G partners, ZTE actively responds to China Mobile's 5G strategic needs by providing a full range of products, including 5G radio access networks (RANs) and virtual core networks (VCNs). In addition, ZTE has been providing full support in the research on key technologies, definition of product specifications, and testing of pilot networks to guarantee the fulfilment of strategic goals.

Bai Yanmin, general manager of ZTE's TDD and 5G products, said: “This 5G field test jointly conducted by Guangdong Mobile and ZTE indicates that ZTE has made a step forward and plays a significant role in driving 5G evolution from laboratory testing to commercial use. A multitude of key technologies, solutions, and network models will be verified on the pilot network. Through detailed field tests, we can discover and solve the potential problems, and gather more experience for the large-scale commercial use of 5G in the future.”

ZTE and China Mobile have already carried out extensive collaboration in the 2G, 3G, and 4G fields, and even more so in the 5G field. In 2016, ZTE signed a 5G strategic cooperation memorandum with China Mobile, and ZTE's ground-breaking Pre5G Massive MIMO base stations were deployed in the existing network of China Mobile. In February 2017, ZTE, Qualcomm, and China Mobile jointly announced that they planned to conduct interoperability tests based on 5G NR specifications and over the air (OTA) field tests to facilitate large-scale rapid verification and commercialisation of the 5G NR technology.

ZTE plays a leading role in the verification of 5G technologies and the development of 5G products. By adopting the development of 5G as its core strategy, ZTE is expected to invest billions of dollars in 5G R&D before 2018, and boasts more than 2,000 5G R&D engineers worldwide. ZTE has always promoted 5G standards. In 2017, ZTE initiated and played a leading role in the non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) project, a core 5G NR project.