ZTE Corporation, a leading global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, today announced that it is to expand the world`s first IOS 5.0-based CDMA2000 system in Sri Lanka.

Formerly Sri Lanka Telecom, owned by the Sri Lankan Government`s Telecommunication Ministry, it then became a limited company in 1996 with half of the shares owned by the Government.

In September 2005, SLT,  the nation`s largest fixed line telecommunications service provider acquired an 800MHz CDMA license and called for international tenders for the first phase of a CDMA network to provide quality voice and Internet data access services and many other enhanced services for business and residential customers. In competition with major international CDMA vendors, ZTE won the initial contract based on its All-IP solution, taking on full responsibility for network construction.

SLT`s CDMA network consists of two softswitches. The first is in the capital city, Colombo, with the second in the historic city of Anuradhapura - in the central part of the Country. The deployment of this second phase means the SLT network will be enlarged to cover approximately 300,000 subscribers all over the island who have limited access to telecoms.

The Sri Lankan network was commissioned in October 2005 and in April this year it was converted to an IP based network following the announcement that ZTE had become the first telecoms equipment company with the capability to successfully deploy All-IP CDMA2000 solutions based on the IOS V5.0 standard for commercial use worldwide.

"ZTE`s customised solutions guarantee quality and cost-efficiency. The combination of attractive product and responsiveness to our needs gave us project efficiency that nobody else could match," said Mr Shuhei Anan, CEO at Sri Lanka Telecom. "This enlarged system will help us to focus on special areas which lack copper infrastructure such as the north, east and deep south of the country."

ZTE`s All-IP CDMA2000 solution is a carrier-class hardware platform providing open interfaces, advanced NGN softswitch technology and powerful functionality. Importantly, these features provide the necessary degree of compatibility for the new network to be integrated with the operator`s existing fixed-line infrastructure. The IP-based A interface enables more flexible network deployment and transmission and substantial cost savings for bandwidth transmission between the Media Gateway and Base Station Controller. It also offers cost savings for vocoders and interface cards, smooth future migration to IMS, improved voice quality and minimizes shelving, racks and space requirements.

ZTE All-IP solutions have also been commercially deployed in China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and a number of other countries.

Media Contact:
Margrete Ma  
ZTE Corporation
Tel: +86 755 26775207
Email: ma.gaili@zte.com.cn