13 September 2007, Shenzhen, China - ZTE Corporation ("ZTE"), a leading global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, announced today that AR Telecom, Portugal's leading independent fixed network telecommunications provider, has appointed the company to build the country's backbone transmission network.  The network project coverage will span across Lisbon, Portugal's capital, Porto, and other well-developed cities in the country.

Under the agreement, the backbone transmission network project will utilize ZTE's ZXMP M800 - the only high capacity DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexer) equipment incorporating six types of network equipment protections in the industry, and MSTP equipment including ZXMP S330, S320 and S200 for hybrid networking. Upon completion of the project, AR Telecom will accomplish its network coverage in Portugal's main cities as part of its network development business in the country. 

"We are delighted to again partner with AR Telecom, whom we had worked with several years back, to help build the backbone transmission network in the main cities of Portugal, allowing us to further expand our technology presence in the European market," said Mr. Li Wei, Chief Representative of ZTE Portugal. "We had an excellent collaboration with AR Telecom previously, and we want to maintain our relationship by providing them with our custom-made solutions and advanced technology to meet and satisfy their business and technical requirements."

"After a comprehensive network solution evaluation and considering our previous partnerships, we've decided to again collaborate with ZTE, whom we believe fully understands our unique requirements in developing the network infrastructure," said João Martins, CTO of AR Telecom. "ZTE's tailor-made solutions fit well with our needs, hence we are confident that key cities in Portugal will have the best and most reliable network infrastructure in Europe."

Portugal has a highly competitive telecommunications industry, hence it is imperative for service providers to look for a solution that is stable and environment friendly, and a supplier with proven technology expertise and excellent after-sales service. As a rapidly growing provider of fixed network in Portugal and having developed the next generation triple play wireless network TMAX®, digital and with high capacity, AR Telecom is now focusing on offering new communications services such as TriplePlay. Currently the subscriber base in Portugal reaches to more than 30,000 customers at the beginning of 2007. To serve the TMAX® access network, AR Telecom is building a DVB+DWDM network relying on ZTE's ZXMP transmission equipment.

ZTE has been aggressively expanding in overseas markets in recent years, and has established partnerships with over 500 operators in more than 120 countries.  Among its most recent major projects include India's transmission network with BSNL, Tunisia's national transmission network with Tunisie Telecom, and Nepal's cellular lines network with Nepal Telecom.  ZTE's telecommunications network products are widely used globally in Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific, UAE, Africa and Middle East.  According to Ovum-RHK, a leading international telecommunications, IT and software research firm, ZTE has been the fastest growing mainstream optical equipment vendor for three consecutive years.