15March 2016, Shenzhen, China – ZTE Corporation (0763.HK / 000063.SZ), a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions for the Mobile Internet, at CeBIT 2016, announced its 2+4 broadband and narrowband converged digital trunking solution 2.0 to governmental and enterprise business customers worldwide. The solution fully complies with the public security system’s wireless communications private network and broadband standards, and features an innovative software defined radio (SDR) system architecture as well as distributed networking. As a vendor able to provide customers with a full range of systems (including 2G, 4G, 2+4, and proof of concept solutions) and terminals, ZTE possesses a deep understanding of the trunking market and industry development trends. This allows ZTE to realise the convergence of broadband and narrowband, compatibility between digital and analog, combination of public and private networks, and abundant services.

Narrowband & broadband converged: customers can make their own choices based on innovative technology

ZTE’s innovative 2+4 solution is a globally leading narrowband and broadband digital trunking technology. The ‘2’ refers to digital mobile radio (DMR) and the ‘4’ refers to long term evolution (LTE). Featuring a simple design and low cost, the DMR private network can be deployed and achieve wide coverage quickly, but provides only voice services and limited data capabilities. Contrastingly, LTE supports HD video and high speed data transmission with its strong data capacity, however the cost is comparatively high in wide deployment areas. Therefore, ZTE’s 2+4 solution is well suited to solve these issues, in which the DMR system provides coverage in large geographies, while the LTE system delivers heavy-data services in key areas.

The 2+4 solution adopts industry leading SDR architecture, using a unified core network to accommodate both LTE and DMR base stations, so that unified network management and dispatching can be achieved. The solution allows users to determine their network environment according to actual needs for example:

·  Building a 2G trunking network, which is compatible with the analog terminal, supporting a smooth transition to 4G.

·  Building a 4G trunking network to bear broadband data and trunking services, which can support 2G through software configuration when there is a need for analog-to-digital migration.

·  Building a full 2+4 network, with 2G base stations deployed widely and 4G base stations in key hot-spots. If the demand for heavy-data services increases, further 4G base stations can be added to expand coverage without altering the existing hardware platform.

In this way, the 2+4 solution is future-proofed and can be customised to meet the user’s needs, resulting in a lower capital expenditure (CAPEX) and an improved efficiency.

As an advocate of the 2+4 solution, ZTE is the first in the industry to launch a multimode terminal, the PH856L. This model meets a customer’s demand for networking with a variety of wireless systems integrated, and supports analog-digital compatibility as well as a smooth transition towards 4G.

Using the layout of a classic walkie-talkie, the PH856L is a high-end dual-mode 2+4 digital trunking intercom that supports both police digital trunking (PDT) services complicit with public security standards and 4G services, with a built-in LTE broadband high-speed data module. It supports real-time uploads and delivery of large quantities of data, including videos and images, thus expanding the scenarios for customers to use the trunking data services. In addition to the PDT digital trunking mode, the PH856L also supports the MTP1327 analog trunking mode, meaning that the intercom can also be used in existing MTP1327 network environments, thus protecting the existing investment of customers and supporting them in making smooth network transitions.

Analog & digital compatibility: powerful SDR, strong foundations

ZTE has been committed to the research and development (R&D) and application of professional digital trunking products for more than ten years. The PDT/DMR system produced by ZTE uses the wireless base transceiver station (BTS) designed and developed based on SDR technology to support both digital and analog standards. The ratios of analog and digital carrier can be adjusted when necessary through software configuration, and a gradual transition towards all digital carriers is achievable. Compared with existing systems on the market today, an SDR base station features the following advantages and innovations:

Features

·  Supports PDT/DMR, MPT1327, and MPT1343 standards.

·  Supports multiple analog bandwidths, including 12.5 KHz and 25 KHz.

·  A single SDR base station supports up to 16 digital and analog carriers.

·  Supports single calls between digital and analog users, and supports mixed grouping of digital and analog users.

Reductions in CAPEX and operational expenditure (OPEX), protecting existing customer investments

With its SDR architecture, the hardware platforms of the MPT and PDT/DMR systems are one in the same. The two systems differ only slightly in terms of software. That is, the customer does not have to invest in both systems and thus CAPEX can be reduced. The coexistence of digital and analog modes under the same system, that is, the same switch center, the same network management center, and the same dispatching console, puts both analog and digital users under a centralised management and dispatching mechanism, thus significantly saving on OPEX.

Real-sense integration

With flexible configuration, the same SDR base station or even the same radio frequency (RF) unit supports PDT/DMR or MPT carrier. Calls between an analog and a digital user can be processed directly by the system, without the need for an extra gateway device, thus improving digital-to-analog call quality with reduced call delays and stalls.

Digital-analog interoperation within a single base station

If the base station is configured in single station operating mode, or the base station enters a weakened mode due to a transmission link failure, the system still provides customers with seamless services by supporting single-station dispatching based on digital-analog interoperability.

ZTE has made a significant investment in narrowband digital trunking terminals. The PH790 digital trunking intercom is the outcome of an industry-leading design team and boasts, according to the highest quality standards, the highest level in terms of appearance, communication distance, device resiliency and robustness, sound quality, and ease-of-use. It can meet a variety of challenges from both the high-end public security market to the low-end commercial market.

Public & privatecombination: the eChat solution

Increasingly, industrial customers are turning to the public mobile network to meet their demands on trunking services, because it can be difficult for them to set up a dedicated private network themselves due to investment problems, and conversely, the public network has the advantages of strong coverage, low rates, national roaming, and application expandability. Some private network users also require the wide coverage of a public network to complement voice and data services. As an extension and supplement to the private network trunking communications products, the eChat solution based on the public network data service launched by ZTE can use almost all presently known radio access technology (including GPRS, CDMA 1x, EVDO, WCDMA and Wi-Fi) to provide professional digital trunking services. The eChat terminal series are both a professional walkie-talkie and mobile phone.

Features of the e700, an eChat LTE terminal include:

Innovative and simple to use

The e700 possesses many user-friendly design details resulting in highly efficient communications. The e700 works on the Android platform with a self-defined user interface. In addition, it possesses a professional sound chamber, a high-powered speaker, and carefully designed inputs/buttons.

Abundant functions

The e700 supports eChat voice intercom and trunking dispatch services. With the use of advanced positioning technology, it supports GPS and Glonass to provide more accurate location information to the user and management center. With a powerful secondary development interface, more functions can be established for future use.

Quick and seamless communication

e700 supports LTE and WCDMA dual-mode dual-standby one-way audio to meet the demands of trunking dispatch at work and voice communication in life. It supports a variety of near-field communication modes, including Bluetooth and WLAN, and makes communications very convenient.

High reliability

Its IP54 protection rating makes the e700 suitable for outdoor work. Its specifications concerning shock protection, vibration protection and solar radiation protection all meet military standards of reliability, and can be relied upon in a variety of demanding working conditions.

Abundant services: a multi-service unified platform

ZTE launches a unified dispatching platform that provides voice, data, video and positioning services, to solve the issues of varying-standards used by systems on different platforms, and the lack of concerted actions among different systems.

·  Multi-service integration: One dispatching server supports voice, data, video, and positioning services. The client works in a three-screen mode with voice dispatching, video dispatching, and GIS map locations displayed separately.

·  Multi-system connectivity: The dispatching platform supports hybrid groups of 2G and 4G terminals, and is compatible with the analog systems. It can interwork with external systems such as TETRA and PSTN. It can also interoperate with the video conferencing and video surveillance.

·  The platform can store and playback dispatching data, and implement ground-to-air dispatching from an unmanned device.

·  Based on web service technology architecture, the platform uses a browser/server mode lowering deployment costs.

·  The platform provides a 3rd-party Java-based development interface kit to simplify integration with other industry platforms, thus the wider-range service integration and unified dispatching.