ZTE TECHNOLOGIES

VIP Voice3We’re Ready to Enrich the World with ZTE Productsand ServicesAs the New Year rings in, we interview Fan Qingfeng,executive vice president of ZTE Corporation. Fan Qingfengis responsible for global marketing and sales and shares hisviews on the prospects of wireless technologies, engineeringservices, green revolution, and customer services.3Tech Forum7710LTE Business ModelIn the foreseeable future, LTE business models may be found inhigh-speed and high-bandwidth Internet services, mobile Internetplatforms, on-line wireless communities, and M2M communications.Business Opportunities in TD-LTEThe abundant spectrum resources, technical advantages, andflexible networking features of TD-LTE may translate into greatmarket opportunities. As the industry chain matures, TD-LTE haspromising commercial prospects.1013LTE-A: Trailblazing Towards 4GSolution1515LTE Network Design and Deployment StrategyThe pace of LTE development has quickened, and people have highexpectations. However, it is a new technology and the whole industryneeds time to optimize networks and develop mature terminals.

VIP VoiceThe technologygap among equipmentsuppliers is narrowing,and engineeringservices and projectdelivery are anincreasingly importantarea of differentiation.Quality project deliverycan give an operatorthe advantage ofquick entry into amarket while excellentservices allow anoperator effectivecontrol over OPEX andCAPEX.nearly 4000 R&D staff in Xi’an,Nanjing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Europe,and America working on 4G. LTER&D accounts for 40% of our totalinvestments in the wireless sector. ZTEhas worked with global operators topositively push LTE commercializationand has deployed 12 LTE commercialnetworks and 65 trial networks inEurope, America, Asia Pacific, and theMiddle East.Our cooperation with Hong Kong’sCSL to launch an LTE networkwas a great success. Hong Kong’spopulation density, skyscraperforest, and clustered CBD make foran extremely complicated wirelessenvironment. Constructing large-scalewireless networks there is challenging.However, with strong support fromCSL, and with our engineeringexperience and technological researchcapabilities, we succeeded in deployingthe world’s first LTE/DC-HSPA+commercial network. We are proudof this accomplishment. Data trafficin CSL’s network has increased 65fold, and now comprises 80% of totalnetwork traffic. The network covers50% of Hong Kong’s population.LTE/DC-HSPA+ is the best modelfor accommodating both 3G and 4Gnetworks. This network will lead CSLinto a new era of mobile broadbandfor business and entertainment andwill put Hong Kong at the forefront ofglobal telecommunications innovation.It is a pacesetter in the industry interms of the complexity of the wirelessenvironment and technology of choice.ZTE also leads in LTE innovation.As of November 2010, ZTE held 235essential patents for LTE, 7% shareof the total LTE essential patentsdeclared on the Intellectual PropertyRights (IPR) online database ofthe European TelecommunicationsStandards Institute (ETSI). This is quitean achievement because it indicateswe now have more say in topicsconcerning LTE.We are also aware that LTE is nevera simple wireless network upgrade butis revolutionary for user experienceand requires changes to be made toterminal, access, bearer, core network,and service applications. Operators areconcerned about whether equipmentv e n d o r s c a n p r o v i d e t o t a l a n dintegrated solutions when constructingan LTE network. With a flexible androbust SDR platform, a series of accessand bearer products, the industry'slargest capacity core network platform,and strong terminal customizationcapabilities, ZTE is an ideal partner forLTE construction. We have deployedmore than 100 SDR-based wirelessnetworks worldwide. Every one ofthese networks supports evolutionto LTE. We are very confident thatour LTE products will maintain theirleading status well into the future.R: As the global economy developsand operators raise their expectations,telecom engineering projects arebecoming increasingly complicated.More and more importance is beingplaced on engineering services andproject delivery. How do you viewZTE’s capability in these areas? Whatlevel is ZTE at in terms of worldwideproject delivery?Fan: As the global telecom sectorgrows, and market competitionescalates, operators expect much morefrom their equipment and servicesuppliers. The range and contentof project delivery is changing. Wecontinue to expand our services fromequipment installation, debugging, andmaintenance at the earliest stage, tofull turnkey project delivery, managed ZTE TECHNOLOGIES February 2011

services, and professional services.Our professional services includenetwork planning and optimization,maintenance and repair, communicationguarantee, and security consultation.The technology gap among equipmentsuppliers is narrowing, and engineeringservices and project delivery arean increasingly important area ofdifferentiation. Quality project deliverycan give an operator the advantageof quick entry into a market whileexcellent services allow an operatoreffective control over OPEX andCAPEX. These enhance profitabilityand core competitiveness for anoperator and determine the success ofan operator’s brand.ZTE is devoted to providing itspartners with fast, high quality endto-endproject delivery. We offerindustry-leading custom-made turnkeysolutions, helping operators lower theirTotal Cost of Ownership (TCO) andincrease their Return On Investment(ROI). To enhance logistics efficiency,we have built a complete globallogistics network with several cargotransfer centres. This makes it possibleto deliver quick and agile servicesin response to market fluctuations.Currently, we have more than 10,000experienced engineers and technicians,over 1,600 Project Manager (PM)experts, and over 3,000 contractedpartners around the world. We havethe ability to set up a professionalproject delivery team at short notice.Moreover, we have built up a stateof-the-artproject management systemthat allows for seamless integration ofheadquarters systems and distributedclients and enables visualized projectmanagement.ZTE is a well-established servicebrand. With cutting-edge expertise andprofessional and integrated servicecapability, ZTE is helping its operatorsbuild their network brands and quicklyadd to their commercial value. Wecompleted China’s 3G project in theshortest time and ranked highest inKPI tests. We worked with CSL tobuild the world’s fastest 3G networkin Hong Kong and achieved the bestscores in KPI tests. We cooperatedwith Ncell in deploying 3G stations atthe world’s highest point in Nepal andcompleted the project one month aheadof schedule. We also accomplisheda n u m b e r o f o v e r s e a s n e t w o r kconstruction projects that have beenhighly recognized by KPN, Telenor,Teliasonera, Etisalat, Telefonica, andTelstra.ZTE is qualified to build networks incomplicated environments around theworld. End-to-end delivery is the fourthtrump card we have in conjunctionwith customization, cost leadership,and Chinese capital. It will become oneof our core competitive advantages anda major contributor to ZTE’s scale andprofitability. It will help us achieve ourobjective of world-class excellence by2015.R : G r e e n n e t w o r k i n g , c a r b o nreduction, and energy conservationare developmental trends in the ITindustry. They are also important proofthat enterprises are fulfilling theirsocial responsibilities. What ideas andplans does ZTE have in the area ofenvironmental responsibility?Fan: ZTE has always taken sustainabledevelopment and corporate socialresponsibility seriously. We spare noeffort in promoting green management,green culture, green production,and green value chain. “Innovation,convergence, and green” are key inZTE’s three major developmentalstrategies. As for green strategies,we have put in place an effectivemechanism for uniform managementand implementation. All productlines and business units have a teamdedicated to energy conservation andemissions reduction. We have setenvironmental KPI targets for all majorproducts and key business activities,and they are included in annualperformance evaluations.Our green strategy has been fullyimplemented in all major productionand operational activities. Energyconservation is a key component of ourgreen strategy, and emissions reductionis now a driving force for our productand technology innovation. We haveincorporated these into the wholeprocess of planning, design, R&D,manufacturing, and logistical supportof our products.For example, we currently providea variety of competitive power supplyFebruary 2011ZTE TECHNOLOGIES

VIP Voicesolutions including independent solarpower, hybrid solar-diesel power,hybrid solar-wind power, and hybridsolar-wind-diesel power. Thesesolutions are applied with carefulregard to local climate and weatherconditions. We have delivered solarpoweredsolutions to more than 40operators in over 20 countries. In2010, we successfully deployed eight3G base stations on Mt. Everest usingour custom-made, integrated greenpower solutions in the harsh naturalenvironment. All energy supplied tothese base stations comes from solarpower, which ensures reliable operation365 days a year without the need forelectricity.We have also adopted energyefficiency measures for administrationm a n a g e m e n t . E - o f f i c e h e l p simprove work efficiency, and videoconferencing reduces the need forbusiness trips. In production andlogistics, we have set up a specialteam for green materials management.This team is responsible for studyingand implementing the Restriction ofHazardous Substance (RoHS) directiveand REACH regulations. We achievedQC080000 HS management systemcertification in 2010 and successfullyestablished a complete HS controlprocedure involving spare partspurchasing, product manufacturing,storage, and distribution. This satisfiesthe requirements of green productshipment and delivery.Also, we have been actively engagedwith international environmentalorganizations and have won manyawards for green innovation. Ourbroadband universal access systemZXDSL FSAP 9806H was awarded theprestigious “Best Green Innovation”award at Convergence World 2008 atSOFTNET England. The ZXDSL FSAP9806H has low power consumption,low noise, high reliability, and highintegrational capacity. In February2009, ZTE became a member of theUnited Nations Global Compact.R: What do you think about buildingcustomer relationships in the currenttelecom environment? What kind ofrelationship is ZTE looking to buildwith global operators?Fan: Traditional business models oftelecom operators are being challengedin the current environment. Telecom,IT, media, and entertainment industriesare all interacting with each other andfull-service operation has become anew trend for growth in global markets.In these circumstances, buildingcustomer relationships also confrontsnew challenges. We have to providestate-of-art products and solutions andsatisfactory project delivery, but we arealso expected to think differently aboutbuilding customer relationships.First and foremost, we need tolisten to customer needs. Operatorsare looking for new technologies, newmarkets, and new sources of profit.Network equipment suppliers shouldanalyze these needs seriously, offersolutions to issues of concern, andintroduce new avenues for creatingprofit. Building customer relationshipsinvolves building trust and gainingrecognition from our customers. Weneed to fulfil every promise we makeand deliver more than expected.Customer relationship building doesnot succeed if customers lose faithin us. I hope we can grow with ourcustomers through cooperation. Bycontinually lowering TCO, we helpoperators increase network ARPU. Byproviding quality network coverage,we help operators enhance customersatisfaction and expand their subscriberbase. Hong Kong’s CSL, South Africa’sCell C, and TELIASONERA’s UCellhave successfully partnered with ZTEfor win-win cooperation. We hope toestablish strategic partnerships andmutually beneficial relationships withour customers so that we can developtogether.R: What is ZTE’s development strategyfor the future global marketplace?Fan: We are trying to offer qualitytelecom products and services tooperators, governments, and enterprisesaround the world. We put much valueon the real needs of our customers inproviding integrated solutions, effectiveproject delivery, and satisfactorycustomer service. Thanks to thesecapabilities, we continually improvecustomer satisfaction, and can establishstrategic partnerships with operatorsworldwide, especially mainstreamoperators. Globally, we will continueto enhance our in-depth operation inemerging markets and spare no effortin extending into high-end Europeanand American markets. We will alsofocus our attention on governmentand enterprise networks. In 2010, ourterminal products experienced rapidgrowth with a significant 40% increasein shipment and over 100% increasefor the European and American market.We will develop more smartphonesa n d c o m p l e t e l y e n h a n c e o u rcompetitiveness.All in all, we are committed toproviding customers with satisfactoryinformation services by continuing toimprove our innovation, by followingup on market requirements, and byprospecting future technological advancesand evolution. We are prepared to furnishthe world with ZTE products and servicesand contribute to global informationdevelopment. ZTE TECHNOLOGIES February 2011

Tech ForumLTE Business ModelBy Guo JinAt the LTE World Summit in 2008, thewhole telecom industry weighed thechoice between LTE and WiMAX. Atthat time, LTE was only vaguely understood,and much was made of its fast 150Mbpsdownlink rate.At the LTE World Summit in 2009, theindustry came to understand the importance ofLTE and began discussing the challenges facedby LTE. Such challenges included the 2.6GHzband coverage and voice over LTE (VoLTE).At the LTE World Summit in 2010, the focusof attention shifted from networking to utilizingLTE for in-service operation with the view of acommercial rollout by TeliaSonera—a tier-oneoperator in Scandanavia. TeliaSonera’s reporton LTE commercial operation has arouseddiscussion about LTE business models.Drivers of LTERadio technologies are moving from voiceto data, from narrowband to broadband, fromsingle-mode to multimode, from multipletechnologies to key technologies dominatedby OFDM and MIMO. However, there is onlyone goal underlying these trends: to providemore wireless bandwidth. LTE is an importantstepping stone on this evolutionary path.What has driven the rapid development ofLTE in recent years? One of the most importantfactors has been growing market demands forwireless data services. Users need fast andconvenient data services through their terminals,and operators need all-IP networks for highspeeddata connectivity. Competition betweenfixed-line and mobile operators has also driventhe evolution of radio technologies. Moreover,February 2011ZTE TECHNOLOGIES

Tech ForumOnly deploying at the right timebrings the best return on investment.This is fundamental to a profitable LTEbusiness model.the growth of wireless data traffic hasbrought in more revenue for operatorswhich have, in turn, pushed forwardradio technologies. Another drivingforce has been operators seeking higherbenefits and lower costs.When to Deploy LTET h e t i m i n g o f LT E n e t w o r kdeployment is affected by the progressof LTE standardization and maturity ofcommercial LTE terminals and systemsand also by the economic level,demands for wireless data services,user habits, and spectrum licensesissued by governments. This means thetiming of LTE deployment may varyfrom country to country.Only deploying at the right timebrings the best return on investment.This is fundamental to a profitable LTEbusiness model. As evidenced by thepremature deployment of 3G, thereare risks related to unfinalized 3GPPspecifications, poor interoperability(even between terminals and systemsof the same manufacturer), mobility of2G and 3G, poor coverage, and lackof terminals and services. These issuescan well be regarded as a checklist forsuccessful LTE deployment. So too,late deployment might mean that goodmarket opportunities slip by.How should an operator decide theproper time to deploy LTE? This is ahard question. The following pointsshould be considered:■ 3G services have grown rapidly,wireless broadband data trafficis surging, and user habits havebeen fully developed. Sales of 3Gterminals and data cards have alsogrown rapidly.■ Wireless data revenues have risensubstantially and now account fora larger portion of operators’ totalincome. Statistics collected byQualcomm from Vodafone, Telstra,Verizon, and AT&T show thatwireless data services increasedby an average of 30% from 2008to 2009. These tier-one mobileoperators are all running LTE trials.Verizon announced its commercialLTE network in December 2010.■ Wireless data volume exceedsthat of voice, and data revenue is664M888M$1.5B$2.0Bnow greater than voice revenue.CSL, Hong Kong’s largest mobileoperator, has seen an explosivegrowth in data traffic since thelaunch of commercial HSPA+ inMarch 2009. CSL continued itsLTE cooperation with ZTE, aimingat future mobile applications thatcan meet strong demands for highspeedbroadband services.■ Trial and commercial LTE plans ofcompetitors should be considered.Tier-one operators, multinationals,and the largest operator in acountry are always leaders in LTEdeployment. LTE trials are usuallyrun to build a high-end brand image.The second largest operator in acountry also usually develops LTEin order to catch up with or even34% Growth 31% Growth 29% Growth 33% Growth Figure 1. Growth of wireless data revenues for tier-one mobile operators 2008-2009.$3.2B$4.1B$2.7B$3.6B ZTE TECHNOLOGIES February 2011

surpass the leader.Business ModelsAn LTE network provides a datarate of up to 100Mbps in the downlinkand 50Mbps in the uplink. Thesehigh data rates greatly enhance userexperience. Studies on LTE businessmodels are ongoing, and recent studieshave focused on mobile Internet. Inthe foreseeable future, LTE businessmodels may be found in high-speedand high-bandwidth Internet services,mobile Internet platforms, on-linewireless communities, and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications.■ High-speed and high-bandwidthInternet servicesLTE gives users a high-speedservice experience. TeliaSonera carriedout a user survey 100 days after itlaunched LTE. According to the survey,those who subscribed to LTE earlyhad begun to like the technology.Over 90% of those surveyed wereoriginally 3G users and 43% ownediPhones. 65% used LTE to supplementfixed bandwidth and 54% would notconsider turning back to 3G. The newtechnology is shaping mobile Internetusage habits: 26% of those surveyedsaid they would use their mobile morefor work, 23% downloaded larger filesthan before, 19% would watch on-lineTV or streaming movies, and 16% wereusing Internet more often as a result ofsubscribing to LTE.All this shows that users aredemanding better mobile broadbandexperience whenever conditionsallow. Once they have the improvedexperience, it is hard to turn backto the lower-rate service. As the oldChinese saying goes, “It is hard tobecome frugal after being accustomedto luxury.” The emergence of cloudcomputing is further boosting theFigure 2. Computers and mobile phones evolving toward Internet platforms.prosperous development of Internetdata services.■ Mobile Internet platformsFrom voice only mobile phones tomultimedia phones and iPhone andAndroid terminals, mobiles have tendedto develop into Internet platforms.This is also the developmental trendof computers. Terminals are evolvinginto Internet service platforms whereall processing is completed via serviceplug-ins to the cloud and using abackground high-speed mobile datanetwork.■ Online wireless communities andM2M communicationsThe ultimate goal of communicationsis to connect anything or anyone toanything or anyone from anywhere atany time. New technologies such asnetwork convergence, all-IP, and RFIDhave made this goal possible. LTE andLTE-Advanced are important steppingstones in the path toward this ultimategoal.Mobile Internet platforms have beenintroduced to provide users with fastand easy access to a variety of localand Internet applications. People willchange from using fixed terminalsto using mobile terminals and frompoint-to-point connections to onlinecommunities and games circles.With the trend towards highbandwidthall-IP networks, M2Mtechnology—which allows the flowof data to be transferred in real timebetween machines or between peopleand machines using wireless networksand background server networks―has been commercially deployedin Europe, Korea, and Japan. M2Mapplications can be found in safetymonitoring, mechanical and repairservice, public transportation, fleetmanagement, industrial automation,and citywide information networks.Operators currently providing M2Mservices include BT, Vodafone UK,T-Mobile, NTT-Docomo, and SK. Thedevelopment of M2M services has juststarted in China.ConclusionEvolution in the telecommunicationsindustry is unceasing. There willb e c h a l l e n g e s a c c o m p a n i e d b yopportunities. In the LTE age,operators and equipment suppliersmust understand the latest changes andquickly adapt by preparing for newbusiness models and new sources ofprofit.February 2011ZTE TECHNOLOGIES

In June 2010, Qualcomm wonIndia’s 2.3GHz Broadband WirelessAccess (BWA) spectrum auction forTDD development in four regions ofthe country. Qualcomm has promisedto set up a joint venture to build anLTE network. This demonstrates thatQualcomm has TD-LTE in its strategicplan.Mobile operators in the U.S.including AT&T, Verizon, and AmericaMobil have promised to support TD-LTE. Leading operators in Japan andKorea have also played an active rolein promoting TD-LTE. Other operatorswith WiMAX, PHS (1900-1920MHz),and TD-SCDMA will also choose TD-LTE as their migration path.TDD spectrum is easy to acquire,and there is less competitive pressurein acquiring it. The price of TDDspectrum in each country is much lowerthan that of FDD spectrum. BecauseFDD spectrum is very limited andexpensive, more and more operators areconsidering TDD for feature-rich dataservices and hotspot area coverage.Using time division technique, TD-LTE allows flexible timeslot allocationin the downlink and uplink. Thismeets both voice and asymmetric dataneeds and greatly increases spectrumefficiency. TD-LTE can share the samecore network with an FDD system andcan support flexible networking. It canserve as an independent network forhotspots and blind area coverage or asa supplement to the FDD system fordata services. LD-LTE has promisingand widespread applications.Mobile Networks (NGMN) Allianceinclude China Mobile, NTT DoCoMo,Vodafone Orange, T-Mobile, AT&T,as well as 29 mobile network andterminal suppliers including Ericsson,Nokia, Samsung, and ZTE. Togetherthese companies are actively promotingstandardization of TD-LTE. So far,3GPP R9 specifications have beencompleted, and the standardizationprogress of TD-LTE has kept pace withthat of LTE FDD. Testing of TD-LTEtechnology and networking organizedby the LTE/SAE Trial Initiatives (LSTI)was first conducted by China Mobileand has produced favorable results.The TD-LTE industry chain hasbeen established and is growing fast. Itcomprises chipset providers, terminalproviders, infrastructure equipmentmanufacturers, and testing instrumentproviders.All chipset providers plan tolaunch 3G/LTE multimode chipsets inearly 2011. The development of LTEchipsets drives the development ofterminal products. Nokia, Samsung,LG, Motorola, ZTE, and Shanghai Bellwill unveil a number of LTE terminalsChipsetProvidersTerminalProvidersin 2011. LTE TDD/FDD dual-modeterminals will be the mainstreamofferings, and this will further promotethe flexible deployment of TD-LTE.Equipment manufacturers Ericsson,Nokia-Siemens, Alcatel-Lucent, ZTE,and Huawei have all developed TD-LTEseries equipment that can be applied indifferent scenarios. These products havebeen tested in the TD-LTE trial networksof China Mobile and overseas operators.Presently, they support 2.3GHz and2.6GHz bands and will support 1.9GHzand 2.1GHz bands in the future.Test instrument manufacturerAnritsu has announced its MT8820Cwill support TD-LTE radio testing.Rohde & Schwarz and Anite alsoprovide many types of testing andmeasuring equipment.As the industry chain matures,commercial TD-LTE is just around thecorner.ZTE Leads the TD-LTE IndustrySmooth evolutionZTE provides a Uni-RAN solutionbased on an innovative SDR hardwareEquipmentProvidersTest InstrumentProvidersFast-Growing TD-LTE IndustryDriven by operators, standardizationorganizations, equipment vendors, andchipset makers around the world, theTD-LTE industry is growing rapidly.Members of the Next GenerationFigure 2. The TD-LTE industry chain.February 2011ZTE TECHNOLOGIES11

LTE-A:Trailblazing Towards 4GBy Mi DezhongIn a new report entitled 4G LTERevenue Opportunities, JuniperResearch forecasts that by 2014,revenue generated by LTE mobilenetworks will exceed $100 billionU.S. globally. These revenues will bedriven by laptops, smartphones, andother devices with a large proportionof revenues deriving from hightraffic subscribers using web, email,and video. For this reason, mobileoperators are now speeding up LTEcommercialization. GSA’s reportEvolution to LTE (August 2010) details101 LTE network commitments in 41countries.After two years of standardization,the first release of LTE-A Rel-10CA for Continuous Carrierswill be frozen in March 2011. LTE-Aprovides larger bandwidth, higherspectrum efficiency, and higher peakdata rates than LTE. Performanceis optimized in urban hotspots, celledges, and heterogeneous networkenvironments, enabling seamlesscoverage from macro cells to indoorsareas. LTE-A is highly compatible withLTE and introduces key techniques thatmeet and exceed ITU requirements for4G. It can therefore be regarded as areal 4G standard.Carrier AggregationIn wireless communications,spectrum is a highly valuable resourceand accounts for considerable OPEX.CA for Non-continuous CarriersMany operators own several continuousor non-continuous spectrum resources,and capitalizing on these resources hasbeen their focus of attention. To addressthe frequency bottleneck, CarrierAggregation (CA) has been introducedinto LTE-A. CA supports aggregationof both continuous and non-continuouscarriers, as shown in Figure 1.Continuous carrier aggregation isused for super-high bandwidth. Noncontinuouscarrier aggregation hasa much wider range of applicationsthan continuous carrier aggregation.Because spectrum is usually scatteredon various frequency bands, and manydiscrete small-bandwidth spectrumresources are released when 2G/3Gnetworks evolve to 4G, aggregatingthese scattered spectrum resources isimportant.Figure 1. Schematic diagram of carrier aggregation.Coordinated Multi-Point Tx/RxWith the emergence of new servicessuch as Local by Social (LBS) andpopularity of multimedia terminals,February 2011ZTE TECHNOLOGIES13

Tech Forumwith LTE, LTE-A supports up to fourwireless services can be accessed Figure 2. Users can access smooth and14 ZTE TECHNOLOGIES February 2011anywhere and at anytime. However,communication quality can be affectedby multicell interference and can bedramatically reduced at cell edges.Coordinated Multi-Point Tx/Rx(CoMP) significantly improves celledgeuser throughput by employingmulticell coordination, as illustrated inCell 1Figure 2. Schematic diagram of CoMP.MIMO 8x8 in DLfast Internet whether they are in cellcentre or at the cell edge.Enhanced MIMOMulti-Input Multi-Output (MIMO)improves signal quality and spectralefficiency using multiple antennas fortransmission and reception. ComparedCell 2Cell 3MIMO 4x4 in ULtransmit antennas in the uplink andthe number of transmit antennas isexpanded from four to eight in thedownlink (see Figure 3). This greatlyimproves spectrum efficiency andtransmission quality.Wireless RelayCoverage in remote areas hasbeen a hard nut to crack in wirelesscommunications. An effective solutionis to introduce a relay node or relaystation between eNB and UE, asshown in Figure 4. The relay node isconnected to eNB via a wireless link.This reduces network deploymentcost considerably. Moreover, relaycan improve high data rate coveragein urban hotspots, provide coverage inblind areas, and support group mobilityand temporary network deployment.LTE-A has complete 4G technicalfeatures, and its standards andtechniques have been thoroughlyresearched. Since LTE-A requirementswere first put forward, ZTE has takenan active part in drafting LTE-Astandards and submitting proposal thathave been adopted by 3GPP. Presently,a number of LTE-A issues are beingworked through, and various standardsare being perfected.ZTE successfully demonstrated anLTE-A system at the P&T/Expo CommChina in October 2010. Visitors to theexpo witnessed a download peak rateFigure 3. Schematic diagram of enhanced MIMO.of 1Gbps delivered by 4G technology.ZTE is now working hard to developLTE-A technology and has made goodinroads to this end. The company plansto roll out commercial LTE-A productsin 2012. This will allow people to enjoyUEUE feature-rich services and high-speedRNeNBconnectivity using mobile broadband.Figure 4. Schematic diagram of relay transmission.

SolutionLTE Network Designand Deployment StrategyBy Chen HuadongThe report entitled Evolution toLTE released in October 2010by the Global mobile SuppliersAssociation (GSA) confirms that 156operators in 64 countries are currentlyinvesting in LTE. This figure comprises113 firm commitments by operatorsto deploy commercial LTE systemsin 46 countries, and a further 43 “precommitment”trials or pilots in anadditional 18 countries.The pace of LTE developmenthas quickened, and people have highexpectations. However, it is a newtechnology and the whole industryneeds time to optimize networks anddevelop mature terminals. Comparedwith 2G/3G, LTE has differentarchitecture, key technologies, networkdesign, and planning.Continuous Networking vs.Discontinuous NetworkingThe coverage of some wirelessdata services—including WiFi—maybe discontinuous. However, 2G/3Gmobile networks are designed forcontinuous coverage. LTE mobilebroadband technology is now widelyseen as the evolution path for 2G/3Gmobile networks such as GSM/GPRS/EDGE, WCDMA/HSPA and CDMA/HRPD. Although WCDMA and CDMAnetworks are fundamentally continuous,HSPA or HRPD can be designed foreither continuous or discontinuouscoverage.Most LTE networks are designedaccording to the continuous principle.Continuous networking improvesuser experience at cell edges, reducesinter-RAT handover requirements,a n d f a c i l i t a t e s e v o l u t i o n f r o m2G/3G to LTE. In LTE continuousnetworking, consideration needs toFebruary 2011ZTE TECHNOLOGIES15

Solutionbe given to continuous coverage ofRSRP, RSRQ, best service cells, andtraffic channels in both the uplink anddownlink (PUSCH and PDSCH). LTEdiscontinuous coverage is usuallyapplied in special scenarios suchas discrete hotspots. Discontinuouscoverage takes advantage of highordermodulation and coding undergood radio conditions to improve cellthroughput and user experience at cellcenters.Frequency and BandwidthLTE has many spectrum options.Frequency bands available for LTEinclude 2.6GHz, 1.8GHz, AWS(1.7GHz in the uplink and 2.1GHzin the downlink), 700MHz, DD(800MHz), and 2.1GHz. Such a widerange of frequency bands makes itpossible to deploy LTE in differentcountries. However, different frequencybands bring about challenges for LTEequipment production, networking, andLTE-based international roaming.LTE also supports flexible carrierbandwidths—from 1.4MHz up to20MHz (1.4MHz, 3MHz, 5MHz,10MHz, 15MHz, and 20MHz). In mostcases, LTE FDD supports a symmetricbandwidth in the uplink and downlink.For scenarios with bandwidth andinterference restrictions, asymmetricbandwidths between the uplink anddownlink may be supported.Intra-Frequency Networking vs.Inter-Frequency NetworkingThe quality of an LTE networkis primarily affected by inter-cellintra-frequency interference. Seriousinterference of this type may be causedby intra-frequency networking, and thesimplest way to alleviate it is to useinter-frequency networking. However,inter-frequency networking maydecrease spectrum efficiency. So Inter-Cell Interference Coordination (ICIC)is introduced.ICIC can be implemented in severalways. Depending on the periodof resource coordination, ICIC isclassified into static ICIC, semi-staticICIC, and dynamic ICIC. It can alsobe classified into fractional frequencyreuse, soft frequency reuse, and fullfrequency reuse according to the typeof resource coordination. No matterwhich ICIC solution is used, frequencyallocation for cell edge users needs tobe carefully considered. The cell edgecan have a frequency reuse factor of 3while the cell center has a frequencyreuse factor of 1.Antenna and MIMOMultiple Input Multiple Output(MIMO) technologies have beenintroduced into LTE. Antenna selectionshould take into account not onlyfrequency bands and Half Power BeamWidth (HPBW) but also the numberand polarization of antenna elements.Two antennas per sector is thebasic configuration for initial LTEnetworking. For scenarios in whichcoverage or capacity is sensitive, fourantennas per sector can be adopted.ZTE’s LTE base stations support twoantennas or four antennas per sector.Co-Site vs. New SiteCo-siting 2G, 3G, and LTE basestations means that equipment racks,transport, power supply, and airconditioningcan be shared. ZTE’sUni-RAN solution integrates 2G, 3G,and LTE into a multimode unifiedplatform and supports co-site design,implementation, operation, andmaintenance.While new sites are built tomeet different frequency bands andnetworking requirements, co-siting isused as much as possible. New sitesare complementary. Emerging LTEoperators who have no legacy mobilenetworks may deploy new sites forgreenfield networks.Cell CapacityLTE cell capacity involves peakthroughput and spectral efficiency. Peakthroughput is only achieved under idealf12f1f1fc73f1f3f1f2fcf2Frequency Reuse 1 Frequency Reuse 3 ICICfcf36154Figure 1. Networking based on different frequency reuses. Figure 2. Frequency reuse for the cellcenter and cell edge.16ZTE TECHNOLOGIES February 2011

Table 1. Cell peak throughputs for different bandwidths.DL (SISO)DL (MIMO 2×2)DL (MIMO 4×4)UL (SIMO MCS=23)Category 4 (16QAM)UL (SIMO)Category 5 (64QAM)conditions, while spectral efficiencyis based on real network conditions.Cell peak throughputs for differentbandwidths comply with 3GPPspecifications. Cell spectral efficiencyvaries in different radio environmentsand traffic models and can be measuredthrough network tests or be estimatedusing system simulation.1.4MHz 3MHz 5MHz 10MHz 15MHz 20MHz4.392Mbps8.784Mbps17.52Mbps2.984Mbps4.392Mbps11.064Mbps22.128Mbps44.304Mbps7.48Mbps11.064Mbps18.336Mbps36.672Mbps73.392Mbps12.576Mbps18.336Mbps36.696Mbps73.392Mbps150.752Mbps25.456Mbps36.696Mbps55.056Mbps110.112Mbps220.272Mbps37.888Mbps55.056Mbps75.376Mbps150.752Mbps299.552Mbps51.024Mbps75.376MbpsInformation CollectionCoverage and Capacity TargetRadio Network DesignSite Selection and SurveyNetwork Planning and SimulationInformation CollectionNetwork Deployment RequirementCoverage DesignFigure 3. LTE network dimensioningprocedure.Propagation ModelCalibrationCapacity DesignNumber of Sites RequiredRadio Network PlanningPlanning for LTE networks is similarto that of 2G/3G networks, thoughdetailed contents and parameters aredifferent. Procedures for LTE networkdimensioning and planning areillustrated respectively in Figure 3 andFigure 4.LTE network dimensioning involvesinput of frequency and bandwidth,coverage and QoS requirement,target services at cell edge, numberof subscribers, traffic profile persubscriber, and indoor penetration.Maximum Allowed Path Loss (MAPL),cell range, number of sites and sectors,and eNodeB configuration are includedas output.C o m p a r e d w i t h n e t w o r kdimensioning, digital map is additionalinput necessary for detailed networkplanning. Additional output for detailednetwork planning includes uplink anddownlink coverage simulation result,uplink and downlink achievable bit rateRequirementSatisfied?Radio Network ProposalFigure 4. LTE network planning procedure.map, antenna azimuth and tilt, cell IDand neighbor cell parameters.Z T E h a s d e v e l o p e d i t s o w ntools such as ZXPOS CNP-FL,ZXPOS CNT-FL, ZXPOS CNA-FL, and ZXPOS NEXMAX-FL forLTE network design, planning, andoptimization. Other LTE networkplanning tools such as Atoll by Forskhave also been released. Versions ofthese tools are continually updated.Network Deployment StrategyLTE offers mobile data service withQoS guarantee. It can cover denselypopulatedurban areas, suburban areas,or rural areas. A nationwide LTEnetwork can be deployed in four steps:NY■ Cover densely-populated urbanareas in capital and metropolitancities;■ Cover densely-populated urbanareas in ordinary cities;■ Cover suburban or rural areas incapital and metropolitan cities;■ Cover other areas.ZTE has much experience indeploying 2G, 3G, and 4G networksworldwide. As of December 2010, ZTEhas concluded 12 LTE commercialcontracts and built 65 LTE trials all overthe world. With full confidence in theability to design, plan, and deploy LTEnetworks, ZTE is ready to join handswith global operators in building cuttingedgeLTE networks.February 2011ZTE TECHNOLOGIES17

Success StoriesCSL: LTE CreatingBlue Ocean OpportunitiesBy Zheng Hong and Fu YuIn the aftermath of the global financialcrisis, LTE development is thriving. This isespecially true in North America and Europewhere commercial LTE networks have alreadybeen deployed. Hong Kong is a leader in theAsian telecom industry, and LTE is the inevitablechoice for network evolution throughout the city.CSL, the largest mobile operator in Hong Kong,is pushing hard to be the first to deploy LTE. Sowhy has CSL chosen ZTE as its LTE supplier?The following factors are driving CSL to be apioneer in LTE:External factors:■ Hong Kong has a highly saturated voicemarket with a mobile penetration rate of 173%in 2009;■ Hong Kong has a large youth market whodemand quality data services;■ There is high data throughput for each basestation due to high population density;■ A new business model has arisen with iPhone;18ZTE TECHNOLOGIES February 2011

■ Fierce competition exists betweenmobile operators in Hong Kong.Internal factors:■ CSL previously had a decliningmarket share and APRU;■ User loyalty is low due to mobilenumber portability service;■ High bandwidth is required for newtechnologies and services;■ CSL’s network structure haspreviously been complicated andinefficient, and OPEX was high;■ Network convergence and evolutionwas difficult.Since the launch of the Next Gall-IP mobile broadband networkin March 2009, data traffic hasincreased by a factor of 65, andnow comprises more than 80% ofCSL’s total network traffic. It is clearthat there is a strong need for LTEin Hong Kong and for provisionof superior customer experience.CSL needs high-bandwidth, lowcostnetwork technology to enhanceits market competitiveness. Witha bit-cost advantage over 2G and3G technologies, LTE can greatlyreduce network deployment costsand increase an operator’s profitmargin. For CSL, LTE is the ultimatetechnology for implementing a “blueocean” strategy.Best Network Solution for the MostComplicated Wireless EnvironmentOne of the most prosperous citiesin the world, Hong Kong is famous forits forest of skyscrapers and vibrantdowntown areas. The environmentin which wireless networks mustoperate is extremely complicated,and constructing wireless networks ischallenging.CSL’s four original networks withdual modes and three frequencybands had high maintenance costsand were not competitive in dataservices. Their complicated networkstructures made upgrading difficult.To simplify network structure, CSLadopted ZTE’s SDR-based Uni-RANsolution, which allows for coexistenceof 2G, 3G, and LTE. With distributedBBU+RRU, better use can be madeof equipment rooms and difficulty inacquiring new sites is avoided. CSL’snetwork structure was simplified interms of wireless, core, transmission,and management. Operation andmaintenance costs were reduced by anastonishing 61.4%.February 2011ZTE TECHNOLOGIES19

Success StoriesSDR is an innovative technologyat the forefront of the wirelessbroadband revolution. ZTE’s stateof-the-artSDR technology not onlyreflects the company’s keen pursuitof advanced technology but also itsprecise grasp on future technicaltrends. The SDR-based Uni-RANsolution for CSL has the followingattractions:■ Unified and future-oriented SDRplatform that enables smoothnetwork evolution while protectinginvestment to the greatest possibleextent;■ Rapid customization and servicedevelopment that satisfies therequirements for multiband,multimode radio reconfiguration;■ Enhanced spectral efficiency, peakdata rate, throughput, cell edgecoverage, and QoS that ensuresexcellent network quality;■ The world’s first commercial1.8G/2.6G dual-band LTE networkthat takes advantage of CSL’sspectrum position to providecustomers with better coverage fora more satisfying communicationsexperience.With this groundbreaking technology, CSL is makingthe promise of LTE a reality for Hong Kong and creating anetwork that will establish the city as a telecommunicationsleader.––David Thodey, CEO of Telstra CorporationCSL adopts ZTE’s unified SDR platform that canmigrate to 4G network flexibly. The construction cost will besignificantly reduced and the network building speed will bemuch faster than other operators.––Tarek Robbiati, group managing director of TelstraInternational GroupWorld’s First Commercial LTE/DC-HSPA+ NetworkOn 18 October 2010, CSL wenton a media tour to introduce itscommercial LTE/HSPA+ network.A live LTE/HSPA+ network wasshowcased at four sites, and amongthe audiences were Tsim Sha Tsui,Lan Kwai Fong, Mong Kok, and SaiKung. Multimedia conferencing, HDvideo downloads, high-speed tests,and online games were demonstrated.The actual download speed confirmedby testspeed.net ranged from 50Mbpsto 70Mbps. The demo achieved goodresults and gave media delegates a firsthandexperience of impressive highspeedLTE services.Tsim Sha Tsui SiteLan Kwai Fong SiteMong Kok SiteSai Kung Site20ZTE TECHNOLOGIES February 2011

On 25 November 2010, CSL announced the launch ofthe world’s first LTE/DC-HSPA+ network, heralding a newera in mobile communications. After a commercial LTEtrial network had been established by CSL, Telstra, andZTE in September 2009, LTE was then formally deployedin Hong Kong with peak downlink speeds of 100Mbps andlow latency. At the launch ceremony, CSL demonstratedhow LTE/DC-HSPA+ will outperform existing mobiletechnologies and how CSL would build on its partnershipwith ZTE. The new LTE/DC-HSPA+ network will takeadvantage of CSL’s leading position on spectrum toprovide total coverage and world-class mobile broadbandperformance throughout Hong Kong. It will provideseamless connectivity that redefines the mobile broadbandexperience with ultra-fast speed, high bandwidth capacity,and personalization that has never been seen before in mobileservices.As well as offering high-speed highly reliable mobile dataservices, the LTE/DC-HSPA+ network will improve the livesof Hong Kongers by taking entertainment and interaction tonew levels—anytime, anywhere—with 3DTV, interactivegaming, and e-learning. These applications will not just benovelties to be experienced and forgotten, they will becomean integral part of a daily mobile lifestyle.As a strategic partner, ZTE hasproudly supported CSL in developingand deploying LTE and HSPA+ wirelesstechnologies. Our extensive experienceand leading R&D capabilities allowedus to provide CSL with a solution thatdelivers exceptional network performanceto all its customers.––Hou Weigui, Chairman of ZTE CorporationCSL is proud to be the pioneer of theworld’s first LTE/DC-HSPA+ network. Wewill continue to go beyond expectations,delivering the best coverage and userexperience in Hong Kong while meetingthe rapidly increasing demand for mobiledata driven by the proliferation of smartphones and tablet devices.––Joseph O’Konek, CEO of CSL LimitedAwards and Recognitions■ June 2009: CSL and ZTE were awarded the prestigiousNational Mobile Services award for Wireless NetworkInfrastructure at the GTB Innovation Awards in London.This award recognized the outstanding achievement of fullyreplacing CSL’s original 2G and 3G networks with a worldclassintegrated all-IP SDR based HSPA+ network capableof downlink speeds up to 21Mbps.■ June 2010: CSL and ZTE won the LTE InfrastructureInnovation award for the second consecutive year. Thiswas awarded by Global Telecoms Business magazine forinnovation in CSL’s Next G network. With an impressivepeak rate of 21Mbps, the Next G network launched byTelstra—CSL’s Australian parent company—has beenrecognized as the world fastest mobile broadband networkby Guinness World Records.■ June 2010: Test results of independent benchmarkingfirm, Celfinet, confirmed that CSL provided the bestoverall performance in terms of average speeds, coverage,broadband coverage, voice quality, and data throughput.■ July 2010: Reputable Hong Kong journal e-zone testedvoice quality and data rates of four local UMTS operators:SmarTone-Vodafone, CSL, H3G, and PCCW. The resultsshowed that CSL’s network provided smooth, stable videoprograms with quick response.February 2011ZTE TECHNOLOGIES21

Success StoriesVoLTE Takes Offat Mobile Asia Congress 2010By Zhang Lin and Li NaPeople expect their mobile phones to be capable ofdelivering ubiquitous high-bandwidth services.To provide a better experience for their customersand to gain a competitive advantage, mobile operatorsare now testing and deploying LTE. LTE standardizationwas completed by 3GPP in December 2008, and the firstcommercial LTE network was launched in 2009. It isexpected that over 20 operators will offer live commercialLTE services by 2011.Presently, voice remains the dominant revenue-generatingservice in mobile communications. Revenue from voicecalls amounted to $615 billion USD in 2009. Voice overLTE (VoLTE) is the next step in developing a standard wayof delivering voice for LTE. Although high-speed data, notvoice, is the key driving force for LTE, VoLTE is crucial foroperators because it can generate a lot of revenue. As LTEhas all-IP network architecture and is designed to supportvoice in the packet domain, circuit switched (CS) corenetworks are no longer supported in the LTE specifications.Single Radio (SR) mode is used in LTE, and it isimpossible to deploy services on both LTE and UTRAN/GERAN. There are requests for voice handoff and CSaccess, especially when LTE is initially deployed as hotspotislands. One approach is to instruct an LTE handset tofall back to the CS network when a voice call is required.Another approach is to adopt Single Radio Voice CallContinuity (SRVCC), which uses an IMS system for callanchoring and handover and is based on a third party callcontrol mechanism.The main driving force that will bring IMS intothe wireless market is LTE. An IMS-based solution isnow universally accepted as the key for VoLTE servicedeployment. SRVCC is the preferred choice for mostoperators, and IMS acts as a unified control platform forvoice and multimedia services. IMS-based SRVCC providesQoS control, flexible charging, and better user experience.22ZTE TECHNOLOGIES February 2011

We thought the demonstration of VoLTE was really brought to life and made funand interactive. We appreciate all the teams from CSL and ZTE for their superb supportin making not only the demonstration happen but the mobile world live video too."––Sandra Gilligan, project marketing director, mobile broadband, GSMAAt the Mobile Asia Congress 2010(MAC 2010) held in Hong Kong,GSMA, CSL, and ZTE successfullymade an IMS-based VoLTE call onCSL’s LTE network and also on itsexisting mobile networks. The callwas made using conventional 2G/3Ghandsets and was crystal clear. Thiswas the first time a VoLTE call hadbeen made using interoperable LTE and2G/3G networks.The VoLTE call was made betweenIMS clients located at the GSMA boothand ZTE booth (see Figure 1). A callwas also made from an IMS client toa recipient using a 2G/3G handset.Supplementary services such as callforwarding and call waiting were alsodemonstrated.By showcasing its IMS-basedsolutions and leveraging its expertise inLTE, ZTE demonstrated how voice willbe incorporated into next generationnetworks. The VoLTE demonstrationat MAC 2010 builds on the deeprelationship between ZTE and CSL.ZTE employed Uni-CORE (EPC andIMS) solutions to build an intelligent,converged, and high-performancecore network for CSL. These solutionsenabled full convergence of CSL’s 2G,3G and 4G networks. ZTE’s MMTelAS (or ZXUN SSS) based on the ETCAhardware platform provides VoIP relatedPSTN Simulation Service (PSS) andPSTN/ISDN Emulation Service (PES)together with ZXUN CSCF, as illustratedin Figure 2. IMS-based broadband voicedemonstrated at MAC 2010 serves as aZTE Booth (Tablet, Handest)Figure 1. VoLTE call showcased at MAC 2010.InternetCall betweenVoLTE clientsFigure 2. Architecture of VoLTE demo.good reference for mobile voice serviceto evolve from legacy to LTE networks.This demonstration will boost operators’confidence to deploy and operate LTEnetworks.“Implementing VoLTE is one ofthe biggest challenges for operatorsas they deploy LTE networks. ZTE iscooperating with CSL to research thisLTE/EPC/IMS NetworkCSCF MMTel AS MGCF IM-MGWIMSMME HSS SAE-GWEPCeNodeBGSMA Booth (Tablet)Tablet + Dongle Tablet + Dongle 2G/3G HandsetPSTN/PLMNUTRANCall betweena 3G handset and aVoLTE clientarea and to gain valuable experiencein voice applications over the LTEnetwork. This lays the foundation forCSL in terms of future IMS-based LTEand also provides a significant referencefor other operators,” said Xu Ziyang,president of ZTE’s Core Networkproducts.February 2011ZTE TECHNOLOGIES23

Third EyeGlobal IMS Market 2010October 2010, selected from market research firm iLocusAn Overview of IMS DeploymentScenarioTh e r e a r e t h r e e t y p e s o foperators that have steadilyb e e n d e p l o y i n g I M Stechnology over the last few years.The first category of operators isthose that have IP to the edge. Theseinclude wireline operators, cableoperators, certain commercial LTEnetwork operators, and WiMAXoperators. These service providershave been able to use IMS core tooffer telephony services. The secondtype includes mobile operators thatdo not have IP to the edge yet and aretherefore not able to use IMS core fortelephony services. The third categoryincludes service providers who haveboth wireline and wireless networks.This category of service providers aredriven by FMC for lower TCO, andare focusing mainly on their enterprisecustomers, offering services such asconvergent centrex that often uses acommon IMS core.Obviously most of the IMS actionsurrounds the wireline market wherethe packetization has been pushedto the edge through broadbanddeployment. For convergent operators,IMS solves time to market issue.For mobile operators, the short termdriver is to launch the enhancedcommunications services like RCS.But that is a major market driver.It is not a sufficiently large enoughmotivation to go for IMS deployment.But since the industry chose IMS tocarry VoIP within mobile networks themid term driver for IMS is VoLTE.IMS Deployments in WirelineIn the Class 5 space what we sawwas hybrid TDM switches being builtso that operators could begin to put IPin the middle to do VoIP. Operators didnot necessarily do direct IP terminationbut they put IP in the middle. Somevendors had architectures that allowedthem to do that easily. And that is whatdrove a lot of consumer VoIP or VoIPtermination in the network. That wasearly on. Now if we move to today’snetwork we see the urge to utilizethe broadband infrastructure and thatmandates IMS type deployments. Mostmarkets have alternative broadbandservice providers either wholesale orULL. So broadband is taking off.There is a shift from softswitch/NGN implementations to all-IPIMS implementations. Howeveri n n u m e r o u s c a s e s o p e r a t o r sa r e b y p a s s i n g t h e s o f t s w i t c himplementations moving straightfrom PSTN to IMS. These includecarriers like Turk Telekom, TelkomMalaysia and many others. Move tosoftswitch was not really a move toIP. A softswitch network is still TDMoriented using IP mainly as transportmedium. IMS is pure IP. That seemsto be the top most trend in the marketthese days.24ZTE TECHNOLOGIES February 2011

On a cumulative basis (as of end1H10), a total of 207.9 million IMSsubscriber lines have been shippedfor deployments across both wirelineand wireless networks. Of these anestimated 134.8 million lines havebeen deployed in wireline networks.Estimated 30.9 million lines havebeen installed in wireless networksand around 42.2 million deployed inEricsson 24.0%Huawei 5.1%Others 10.9%convergent IMS deployments.An estimated 25% of the totalsubscriber capacity in wirelinenetworks has migrated to VoIP. Ofthe 25%, around 14% is comprised ofsoftswitch based subscriber lines andremaining 11% is comprised of IMSbased subscriber lines.M a j o r i t y o f t h e 7 5 % o f t h esubscriber lines in wireline segmentAlcatel-Lucent 13.1%Italtel 4.6%Thomson 1.1%NSN 18.9%that remain TDM based are likely tobe migrated direct to IMS. By the year2014, the ratio of IMS-to-softswitchbased subscriber lines deployed in thewireline networks is forecast to bearound 2:1.During 1H10, estimated 18.8million IMS subscriber lines wereshipped for deployment in wirelinenetworks worldwide. Out of the 18.8million IMS subscriber lines shippedin 1H10, an estimated 1.3 million werefor IP centrex lines. The remaining17.5 million were residential lines.Figure 1 gives vendor market share inresidential IMS subscriber lines for theyear 1H10. Ericsson leads the marketwith 24% share worldwide followedby ZTE with 22.3% and NSN with18.9%.ZTE 22.3%Figure 1. Market share 1H10: Wireline residential IMS subscriber lines.IMS Deployments in WirelessThe main driver that will bringIMS to wireless market is LTE whenusers have IP to the edge. There isFebruary 2011ZTE TECHNOLOGIES25

Third Eyenot much opposition to the premisethat doing voice over LTE is by usingIMS. So just like on wireline side youhad to wait till broadband kicked in,on wireless side you have to wait tillIP hits the edge. Mobile broadbandhas seen a sharp increase over theyears. However we still do not haveIP to the edge. The shift to LTE willin most cases be associated with IMSdeployments to support voice. In theremaining cases that use some interimoption, they will over time also movetowards IMS. So it is a matter of whenan operator starts LTE deployment.With the use of Mobile AccessGateway Control Function (MAGCF),however, the operator does not needto have LTE in place in order to utilizean IMS core. Broadly speaking thereare two scenarios: (1) where operatorhas deployed LTE but voice stilltraverses its softswitch network. Inthis scenario, operators evolve thepresent softswitch in order to handleVoIP. Classic method includes thathandled by MAGCF part which willsend all call control to IMS core.MAGCF is the mobile versionof fixed AGCF which has beenaround for a while now. It is aboutproviding access gateway function fornarrowband users to IMS core. FixedAGCF is mature now. Mobile AGCF isnot mature yet. Only ZTE has releaseda commercial product. Most othervendors will release MAGCF producttowards the end of this year. It is asoftware upgrade to mobile softswitchto convert part of the softswitchmodule into MAGCF component.A Ranking of IMS VendorsAll large vendors are thinkingonly in one direction and that isIMS, even though these vendors stillgenerate more revenues in softswitchdeployments than in IMS. There areonly a handful of vendors out therewho are up to the IMS challenge,Table 1. IMS vendor ranking.following factors as the main criteriafor ranking the five vendors:■ Leadership in Wireline IMS■ Leadership in Wireless IMS■ Leadership in Convergent IMS■ Leadership in RCS■ Leadership in IMS TerminalsWe t h i n k t h e s e a r e t h e m o s timportant and most relevant indicatorsgiven the way IMS market has maturedso far. The most active area of IMS isundoubtedly the wireline segment. Assuch, in terms of relative weightage ofthese five factors, we have to assignthe wireline deployments a higherweightage. After wireline, the mostactive deployment area in IMS is theFMC type convergent deploymentssuch as convergent centrex. There isnot much IMS deployment in wirelessonlynetworks. We have given thisarea the same relative weightage asRCS and terminals. So our relativeweightages are proportional to theof NSN’s MSC VoIP server solutionwhereby the VoIP application serverAPIs are opened up to hook with theMSC. The other major solution in thisscenario is CS fallback in which caseyou need two radios in the handset.(2) In the second scenario wherean operator does not have LTE inplace but is looking to use IMS core,Leadership in Wireline IMSLeadership in Wireless IMSLeadership in Convergent IMSLeadership in RCSLeadership in IMS TerminalsTotal ScoreWT.0.40.10.30.10.1Ericsson0.30.30.250.30.00.26ZTE0.250.30.20.20.40.25Huawei0.150.20.30.20.30.22Alcatel Lucent0.20.10.150.10.10.16NSN0.10.10.10.20.20.12there are MAGCF solutions being however. It is the same large vendors.26 ZTE TECHNOLOGIES February 2011developed by vendors. ZTE has acommercial version available in themarket. This solution is importantfrom operator perspective becausea lot of investment has gone intosoftswitch in mobile space.In MAGCF deployments, mobilesoftswitch acts as softswitch andMAGCF at the same time. Softswitchhandles all users except those userswho want IMS services which areThis is not a market that mid tiervendors can effectively address. Theplayers that will dominate the scenewill be the usual suspects: Ericsson,ZTE, Alcatel-Lucent, NSN andHuawei.Between the five of them, somehave excelled in wireline IMSd e p l o y m e n t s w h i l e t h e o t h e r shave excelled in convergent IMSdeployments. We have identified theEricsson emerges with the toprank followed by ZTE at number two.Ericsson is strong in all three importantareas of IMS right now: wireline,wireless, convergent scenarios. ZTEhas leadership in wireless and terminalsside, with a strong performance inwireline IMS during 2009 and 1H10.ZTE is the only vendor there with acommercial MAGCF product in themarket.

News BriefZTE Named Broadband NetworkVendor of the Year in Telecom AsiaReaders’ Choice Awards 201017 December 2010, Shenzhen ― ZTE was recognizedin December for its continued innovation in technologyand rapid market share growth in the field of broadbandproducts. This is the second time ZTE has beenrecognized as Vendor of the Year after receiving theIPTV Vendor of the Year award last year.“ZTE’s broadband products have achievedsubstantial growth in 2010. They have had a remarkableperformance not just in the China market, but also inthe Asian, European and American markets,” TelecomAsia noted. According to telecoms industry analystOvum’s Market Share―FTTx, DSL, and CMTS ports2010 Q2 report, in 2Q10, ZTE’s GPON revenues (OLTports and ONT/ONU combined) grew the fastest year onyear among the top 10 GPON vendors in the industry.The report also ranked ZTE second in FTTx (OLT port)shipments on a rolling four quarter basis (3Q09 to 2Q10).ZTE Opens New Office in Darmstadt16 December 2010, Düsseldorf ― ZTE has opened a newoffice to expand its presence in Germany. The new officein Darmstadt was specifically chosen by ZTE to support itsongoing partner Deutsche Telekom with building modernnetwork infrastructure in Germany.ZTE Corporation has been doing business in Europe forten years and established more than 30 subsidiaries acrossEuropean markets, including France, Britain, Italy, Spain andScandinavia. Its German affiliate, ZTE Deutschland GmbH,was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Düsseldorf. Since2005, ZTE has opened additional offices, including thosein Bonn, Munich, Frankfurt and Berlin. With its new officein Darmstadt, ZTE now holds nine offices across Germanymaking ZTE Deutschland GmbH the largest branch of ZTECorporation in Europe.ZTE and SoftBank to Launch Co-Developed Android Smartphone LiberoZTE the first Chinese vendor to enter Japanesesmartphone market14 December 2010, Shenzhen ― ZTE, a leading globalprovider of telecommunications equipment and networksolutions, and SoftBank, Japan’s top telecommunicationsoperator, today announced that their jointly developed Androidsmartphone, Libero, will be available throughout Japan later inDecember. The Libero will be the first Chinese smartphone tolaunch in Japan.Also known as the SoftBank 003Z or ZTE Blade, theintroduction of the Libero into thehigh end mobile market in Japan isa significant breakthrough whichdemonstrates the company’sability to provide quality andcustomized smartphones to anymarket in the world. The Libero isZTE’s second handset developedin collaboration with SoftBank―the first being the SoftBank840Z, which was launched in lateOctober this year.ZTE to Provide Leading WirelessTechnology to Bahrain’sBatelco Group10 December 2010, Hong Kong ― ZTE todayannounced that it has signed a group frameworkagreement with Batelco Group, under whichZTE will provide cutting-edge wireless solutions,including 2G and 3G equipment, to the Bahrain-basedtelecommunication company.The wireless solutions will be deployed with the aimof reducing Batelco’s capital and operating expenditureconsiderably due to their cost-effective pricing andefficient implementation process, which will ultimatelybenefit Batelco’s customers.February 2011ZTE TECHNOLOGIES27

News BriefZTE Holds 235 LTEEssential PatentsCompany aims to achieve atleast 10% of LTE EP share by201211 January 2011, Shenzhen ―ZTE today announced that it isnow one of the leading vendors inthe world of Essential Patent (EP)for LTE standards, securing 235 ofthese patents.ZTE also has a 7% share of thetotal LTE essential patents declaredon the Intellectual Property Rights(IPR) online database of the ETSIas of 30th November 2010. ZTE’spatents are an indication of itspowerful capabilities in terms ofLTE research and development.This share of LTE essentialpatents is a result of ZTE’scontinuous R&D investment inthe LTE-related key technologiessince 2004. Looking ahead, ZTEaims to increase its current share ofLTE essential patents from 7% to10% by 2012. The company willalso commit more R&D resourcesto accumulate essential patentsand adopt a pro-active approach inimproving 4G and incubating 4G+standards.Major Owners of LTE Essential PatentsZTE 7%Ericsson8%Huawei 8%NTT DoCoMo 5%LGE 6%Samsung 9%Nokia 9%Source: ETSI IPR Online DatabaseOthers 11%Qualcomm 13%InterDigitalPatentHoldings 13%InterDigitalTechnology 11%ZTE Wins SFR Suppliers 2010 AwardZTE wins in the ‘Mobile Handset and Sim Card Supplier’ categoryThe award ceremony for the Challenge SFR Suppliers 201015 December 2010, Shenzhen ―ZTE today announced that it has wonthe Challenge SFR Suppliers 2010 prizein the ‘Mobile Handset and Sim cardSupplier’ category, during an awardceremony that took place on 16th ofNovember.SFR selected the best among 16mobile handset and sim card suppliersaccording to three major criteria:sustainability, innovation and customersatisfaction.ZTE First Branded Android Smartphone ‘Lutea’Available in GermanyZTE proved its commitment tosustainability through producingenvironmentally friendly handsets.The company is increasingly reducingthe weight or volume of its mobilehandsets, mobile phone chargers andaccompanying packaging. They havealso replaced air transport with maritimefreight where possible. As a result, ZTEhas reduced its carbon footprint by morethan 60% in three years.7 January 2011, Düsseldorf ― ZTEannounced the launch of its Androidbased handset Lutea, which is availablethrough German network operatorE-Plus. The co-branded Lutea handset isan Android smartphone that challengeshigh-end devices with industry leadingfeatures at an affordable price point.The device is another example of ZTE’sstrong position as a leading globalhandset manufacturer across Europe.ZTE’s Lutea is based on Android2.1 and provides a capacitive 3.5' multitouchscreen with 480×800 megapixels.It features an MP3 player and FMradio,as well as a 5-megapixel camera,3GSM, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The phonealso supports a data capacity of up to32GB, and comes with a 2GB microSD card inbox and in-built memory of300MB.Z T E ’ s b e s t s e l l i n g m o b i l esmartphone―known as ZTE Bladein other countries―has been madeavailable in more than 20 high-endmarkets including the UK, France,Finland, Norway, Turkey, Hungaryand Japan. Monthly sales unit volumecontinues to grow and is up by tens ofthousands.28ZTE TECHNOLOGIES February 2011

ZTE Launches 1000th Base Station for Ncell3 January 2011, Shenzhen ― ZTEtoday celebrated the deployment of the1000th base station for Nepal’s mobileoperator Ncell. The stations are basedon ZTE’s innovative green energy BTSsolution and form part of the technologyused to implement a green telecom knowhowin Nepal.The management of Ncell spokehighly of the cooperation between Ncelland ZTE, congratulating the successfullaunch of the network’s 1000th stationas well as the green network, while alsoexpressing their appreciation for thetremendous efforts and close cooperationof both project teams to ensure the quickdelivery and success of the project.ZTE Flexes LTE Innovation with Introduction ofFour New Devices at CES 20117 January 2011, Shenzhen ― ZTEtoday demonstrated the company’sindustry-leading LTE solutions, unveilingits next generation ready-for-market datacards, modems, mobile hotspots andtablets at the International ConsumerElectronics Show 2011 (CES) in LasVegas. The devices showcased willbe available in several global marketsbeginning in Q2 2011.“While most companies will becoming to CES with their first-generationLTE products, ZTE is delivering provendevices and form factors ready toflawlessly support consumers today,”said Mr. Cheng Lixin, president of ZTEUSA. “ZTE has pioneered LTE devicesin many global markets, most recentlyhaving launched LTE devices withHong Kong's first and largest mobilecommunications operator, CSL Limited.ZTE is ahead of other vendors as ourdedication and sizeable investment inLTE technologies has paid off in thedevices shown here today.”ZTE’s Global TerminalSales Volume Jumps50% to 90 MillionUnits in 2010ZTE ranked first in global3G handset sales amongChinese vendors5 January 2011, Shenzhen ―ZTE today announced total annualsales volume of terminal productsjumped nearly 50% to a recordnumber of 90 million units in 2010.ZTE’s terminal product salesexperienced rapid growth in bothinternational and domestic markets.By 2010, the growth in both localand high-end overseas markets suchas Japan, France, the UK and theU.S. has become the main sourcesof demand for ZTE handsets. Thefastest-growing market was inEurope where year-on-year salesvolume growth reached 150%. TheU.S. market achieved year-on-yeargrowth of 100%.Separately, ZTE was ranked No.1among Chinese vendors in terms of3G handset sales volume, accordingto a research report by marketresearch firm iSuppli. The report alsonoted that ZTE is leading China’sincremental market for 3G systemswith an 11% share and is rankedNo. 1 in the TD market with a 21%market share.February 2011ZTE TECHNOLOGIES29

30ZTE TECHNOLOGIES February 2011