ZTE has crossed many significant milestones in terms of global customer premises equipment (CPE) shipped. Today, ZTE continues to lead in this sector as 5G proliferates to unlock the future of connectivity. Telecom Review Asia connects with Bai Keke, vice president of ZTE Corporation and general manager of Mobile Internet Product Department, Mobile Device Division, to learn more about ZTE’s innovations and leadership.
As 5G continues to gather momentum, ZTE solidifies its position in the global fixed wireless access (FWA) and mobile broadband (MBB) markets, ranking first in the 5G CPE market worldwide. By October 2022, more than 200 carriers globally have launched 5G commercial services, deploying over 3 million 5G sites collectively.
“As a global CPE leader, ZTE partners with 93 carriers in 35 countries and regions, amassing a cumulative shipment of 2 million units in more than 100 countries and regions,” noted Vice President Bai.
According to the GSMA, 5G networks are expected to cover one-third of the world’s population. As thousands of industries undergo digital transformation journeys, communications connections will witness an unprecedented surge. Forecasts from ABI Research and Mobile Experts revealed that 5G FWA is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of over 70% to connect the unconnected and provide superior experiences. By 2026, the number of 5G FWA users will exceed 60 million.
Bai added that with 5G creating many new scenarios, applications and business models for the entire industry chain, ZTE is an enabler to drive new scenarios, promote digital transformation and drive the global digital economy.
Compared with fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), 5G FWA offers a short time-to-market and at a lower cost. As 5G adoption accelerates to power next-generation interconnectivity, ZTE’s industry-leading mobile internet devices provide FWA and MBB products and solutions for carriers, industrial customers and general consumers.
Committed to delivering value to diversified 5G scenarios, ZTE focuses on providing 5G full-scenario intelligent solutions so that global users can benefit from high-speed, high-reliability intelligent connectivity leveraging wireless networks.
Bai expressed that as a frontrunner in mobile internet devices, ZTE has accumulated notable R&D and technological innovations over the past 17 years. This gives ZTE an unparalleled technological advantage, with an annual shipment volume of mobile internet devices surpassing 10 million units worldwide. Notwithstanding, ZTE boasts 1,000 technical patents in mobile internet devices. Last year alone, ZTE’s shipment volume of FWA and MBB products with self-developed chips exceeded 50 million units.
These figures are a testament to ZTE’s stronghold in the mobile internet business and its focus on powering large-bandwidth, low-latency and wide-connectivity 5G networks designed for the to-B, to-C and to-G markets.
“As one of the few smartphone manufacturers in the world with integrated communication capabilities of cloud, management and end, ZTE terminal has established ‘1+2+N’ layout terminals for the full product series, of which mobile internet devices serve as a very significant part of our terminal strategy,” Bai commented.
ZTE leverages cutting-edge chips, algorithms and infrastructure to extend to its customers’ end-to-end technical capabilities and to yield technical breakthroughs. The to-B model promotes the broadening and strengthening of FWA portfolio products to help carrier customers grow the number of wireless broadband users.
“From the perspective of terminal products, ZTE has incomparable innate advantages in terms of underlying protocols, communication capabilities, antenna technology and so on, that other independent terminal brands cannot match,” Bai added.
For the consumer market, ZTE has been continuously launching suitable FWA and MBB products for consumers through product and model innovations, predominantly geared towards addressing customers’ needs in the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) and the Internet of Things (IoT) industries.
ZTE’s mobile internet devices offer three main product solutions, including personal and home terminals, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) terminals and IoV terminals, serving customers in more than 100 countries and regions worldwide. All-scenario broadband services are adopted through wireless base stations, including 4G/5G CPE products, portable uFi products, data cards and module products.
“In the future, our products will also adhere to the concepts of green, intelligent and security to better serve our customers,” said Bai.
Evolving from 3G and 4G to 5G, ZTE’s mobile internet devices have been focused on advancing protocols, chips and technical standards to tap into each generation of wireless communications, utilizing critical communication technology and years of independent research and development to help carrier customers unleash the full potential of 5G and seize new growth opportunities.
Bai concluded, “As a driver of the digital economy, ZTE will always take technological innovation as the first driving force for enterprise development and do the hardest things best – provide global partners with world-class products and technologies to help customers achieve leapfrogging development.”
