China Mobile, ZTE and Qualcomm showcase 5G leadership with completion of the world’s first end-to-end 5G NR interoperable system based on 3GPP standard

● End-to-end 5G NR system compliant with the 5G New Radio (NR) layer 1 standard framework currently being finalized by 3GPP

● End-to-end 5G NR system utilizing ZTE’s 5G NR pre-commercial base station and Qualcomm Technologies’ 5G NR UE prototype, operating in the 3.5 GHz band

● End-to-end 5G NR system to be demonstrated at China Mobile Global Partner Conference on November 23, 2017 as a periodical achievement from ongoing collaboration of the three parties

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17 November 2017, Shenzhen, China -- ZTE Corporation (0763.HK / 000063.SZ), a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions for the Mobile Internet, today announced its partnership with China Mobile, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., to have successfully achieved the world’s first end-to-end 5G NR Interoperability Data Testing (IoDT) system demonstrating a data connection based on 3GPP R15 standard.

Following the guidelines of China Mobile, the IoDT connection demonstration took place at China Mobile’s 5G Joint Innovation Center, and utilized ZTE’s 5G NR pre-commercial base station and Qualcomm Technologies’ 5G NR sub-6 GHz UE prototype. The end-to-end 5G NR system operates in 3.5GHz and supports 100MHz bandwidth, compliant with the 3GPP Release-15 5G New Radio layer 1 framework[ — including the scalable OFDM numerology, new advanced channel coding and modulation schemes, and the low-latency self-contained slot structure.

The end-to-end 5G NR IoDT system is designed to efficiently achieve multi-gigabit per second peak data rates at significantly lower air interface latency than 4G networks. Implementation of 5G NR technologies will be critical to meeting the increasing connectivity requirements of emerging mobile broadband experiences such as streaming high-definition video and immersive virtual/augmented reality in the future, as well as enabling new high-reliability, low-latency services for autonomous vehicles, drones and industrial control, etc.

The successful interoperable connection of the end-to-end 5G NR IoDT system serves as a significant industry milestone towards pre-commercialization of 5G NR technologies at scale, driving rapid development of 3GPP standards-compliant networks and devices.

Li Zhengmao, Vice President of China Mobile Communications Corporation, said: “China Mobile has been committed to promoting the unified global 5G standard with industry partners. The achievement of end-to-end 5G NR interoperable connection testing, compliant with the 3GPP 5G NR standard, is an important milestone of 5G to productization and pre-commercialization from standard. China Mobile is willing to cooperate with other industry leaders, including Qualcomm Technologies and ZTE to promote that the 5G products continue to mature and the 5G industry marches to success.”

Xu Huijun, CTO and executive vice president of ZTE, said, “ZTE is aiming to become one of the first suppliers of commercial 5G equipment and solutions. During the course of 5G technology verification and product-based development, ZTE is actively verifying a multitude of key technologies, solutions, and network models together with industry partners. The world’s first 5G NR interoperable data connection completed by ZTE, China Mobile and Qualcomm Technologies signifies our devoted efforts and periodical results.”

“Achieving the world’s first end-to-end 5G NR interoperable data connection is true testament to our 5G leadership, driving toward the timely launch of standard-compliant commercial networks,” said Cristiano Amon, executive vice president, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., and president, Qualcomm CDMA Technologies. “Qualcomm Technologies is committed to the continued success of China’s wireless industry and we are excited to collaborate with ZTE and China Mobile to accelerate the path to 5G in China.”

To date, ZTE has signed 5G strategic partnerships with China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, Wind Tre, Open Fiber, Orange, SoftBank, Telefonica, Belgium's Telenet and South Korea's KT, as well as engaged in technical and industrial collaborations with several other carriers. Looking ahead, ZTE plans to continue working with its partners in conducting 5G tests and trials and in promoting the commercialization of 5G worldwide, in a move to offer the full gamut of the soon-to-be-available 5G experience.