23 October 2013, Shenzhen, China – ZTE Corporation (“ZTE”) (H share stock code: 0763.HK / A share stock code: 000063.SZ), a publicly-listed global provider of telecommunications equipment, network solutions and mobile devices, today announced it has won a contract for the third phase of a Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) capacity expansion contract with Uruguay’s Administración Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (ANTEL).

ANTEL has a 97 percent share Uruguay’s the fixed network voice and broadband market and is the largest fixed network operator in the country. It also provides mobile communications services. In 2010, ANTEL began using the state-of-the-art GPON technology to deploy a national Fiber To The Home (FTTH) network.  ZTE has provided GPON products and services to ANTEL for three consecutive years.

As part of the project ZTE will provide a ZXA10 C300 optical access platform to ANTEL. This platform is a futureproof, converged full-service platform that fully meets ANTEL's current demands for broadband services. It also supports smooth future upgrades to NG PON and WDM PON in the future. Over the past two years, ZTE has helped ANTEL complete the construction of a 120 Mbps high-speed broadband network. Further, the network also provides FTTH-based VOIP, HIS, and IPTV services to 540,000 households.

Once the phase three capacity expansion is complete, the GPON network will cover 800,000 households across Uruguay. It will provide households and enterprises with FTTH, Fiber To The Building and mobile backhaul services. This capacity expansion will increase the Uruguayan broadband penetration rate and access rate to industry leading levels, laying the foundation for the further deployment of Smart City, Smart Government, and cloud computing services.

"We’re very glad to have a lasting partnership with ANTEL,” said ZTE Vice President Jiang Xiangyang. “This project has deepened our relationship and put us one step closer to our vision of an optical age in Uruguay.”

A leader in the optical access market, ZTE provides global operators with top-grade products and has seen steady growth in the PON market. According to the Market Share Spreadsheet 2012 FTTx, DSL, and CMTS (Units), published by OVUM in February 2013, ZTE had the largest share (42 percent) of global PON OLT shipments and the largest share (32 percent share) of global ONU/ONT shipments in 2012.