ZTE’s industry-leading eSRVCC and IMS solutions ensure seamless handoff of calls between 4G and 2G networks, taking VoLTE closer to a wider national rollout

9 January 2014, 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, is pleased to help China Mobile deploy voice over LTE (VoLTE) services on the operator’s commercial TD-LTE network in Guangzhou, an important step to a wider nationwide rollout.

The VoLTE services on China Mobile’s 4G TD-LTE network, constructed by ZTE, supports enhanced Single Radio Voice Call Continuity (eSRVCC) switching for seamless handovers to non-4G networks. eSRVCC technology complies with the LTE-A 3GPP R10 standard, greatly reducing latency times when switching voice services between the 4G network and 3G or 2G networks, ensuring that users do not perceive any change when moving between different networks. The VoLTE deployment in Guangzhou was also enabled by a newly-built IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) system provided by ZTE. 4G smartphones with Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 800 processors were used.

"The successful demonstration of VoLTE service speeds up the development of the entire industry ecosystem,” said Mr. Sha Yuejia, Vice President of China Mobile. Mr. Sha and Ms. Wang Xiaoyun, general manager of the Technical Department of China Mobile conducted video calls as they experienced the VoLTE service in a vehicle in the urban area of Guangzhou. They also witnessed the capabilities of ZTE’s eSRVCC solution when voice calls were seamlessly handed off from 4G networks to third-party 2G networks, a key to future commercialization of the service.

The successful VoLTE deployment by China Mobile was completed using network systems and terminals used from different vendors, which shows the feasibility of eSRVCC for all networks of China Mobile.

ZTE has led the industry globally in deploying VoLTE services on 4G TD-LTE networks. In July 2013, ZTE cooperated with Qualcomm to conduct a VoLTE test using commercial terminals in China Mobile's lab. In December 2013, ZTE completed calls over TD-LTE VoLTE between Guangzhou and Tianjin.

The latest collaboration between ZTE and China Mobile, together with their partners, has brought TD-LTE VoLTE service closer to commercial reality, delivering superior user experience to subscribers.