7 December 2016, Madrid, Spain – ZTE Corporation (0763.HK / 000063.SZ), a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions for the Mobile Internet and Telefónica, one of the world’s largest operators, today announced that they have successfully completed Pre5G massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) live testing in Madrid, Spain. This is Telefónica's first Pre5G Massive MIMO trial in Europe.

In October 2016, ZTE and Telefónica started work on a Pre5G Massive MIMO programme in the Telefónica Headquarters in Madrid to assess its performance in hotspot and indoor coverage scenarios. The performance of the Pre5G Massive MIMO base station has exceeded expectations, improving both network capacity and cell-edge data rate up to 6 times compared to traditional long-term evolution (LTE) macro base stations and reducing end-user interference through 3D-beamforming technology. 

New applications were also demonstrated in the trial such as Virtual Reality and 2K streaming videos. All tests were based on existing 4G terminals, including ZTE and other iconic smartphones.

Enrique Blanco, CTO, Telefónica Group, says: "We are very pleased with the results of the Pre5G Massive MIMO live trial with our partner ZTE, a recognised pioneer in the industry in this field. We see a lot of potential for this technology and the capability to bring a better experience for our customers. We believe Pre5G massive MIMO technology can solve the Internet’s last mile problem by improving Internet access and therefore enhancing the user experience. Massive MIMO will be a fundamental technological enabler for future 5G networks.”

The Pre5G Massive MIMO trial completes the first phase of the 5G Memorandum of Understanding that both companies signed in June this year, to enable greater opportunities for cooperation across different industries in areas with high potential such as advanced wireless communications, Internet of things, network virtualization architectures and cloud.

ZTE’s Pre5G Massive MIMO base station was described as a "disruptive innovation" by the GSMA, deserving the “Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough” and the “Outstanding Overall Mobile Technology - The CTO's Choice 2016” awards at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona in February 2016. The ZTE innovation was also honoured with the “Best Wireless Broadband Innovation” award at Broadband World Forum in London in October 2016.