Mar 3 2015
ZTE Corporation (0763.HK / 000063.SZ), a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions for the Mobile Internet, has today launched a pre5G base station integrating the baseband unit (BBU) and remote radio unit (RRU).
The pre5G base station significantly enhances spectral efficiency by using massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology and has already met pre-commercial conditions. ZTE demonstrates the service flow at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2015 in Barcelona.
Massive MIMO, one of the major 5G technologies, uses the multi-user MIMO antenna technologies to significantly enhance radio spectral efficiency and assist operators to increase network capacity by utilising existing sites and spectrum resources.
The spectral efficiency of a pre5G base station that uses massive MIMO technology is up to five times more than that of a traditional base station. ZTE's innovative technical solutions allow users to use commercial 4G terminals at massive MIMO base stations to achieve more MIMO benefits. As a result, users can enjoy 5G performance without changing terminals before new air interface standards are released. ZTE successfully completed the industry's first field test of pre-commercial massive MIMO products, setting a record in throughput and verifying the capabilities of massive MIMO for three-dimensional and intensive coverage as well as support for 4G terminals.
The compact pre5G base station uses the system on a chip (SOC) independently developed by ZTE for baseband processing, and integrates BBUs, radio frequency units (RFU), and antennas – taking commercial use and engineering installation into consideration. This product reduces the installation space required, completely eliminates the dependence on equipment rooms, and significantly lowers the total cost of ownership around network construction for operators.
The pre5G pre-commercial base station has a unique industrial design centred on the ZTE Paper concept, inspired by one of the four great inventions of ancient China - paper. The product design mimics a stack of paper integrating an effective heat dissipation design. In addition, the natural curved shape of paper corresponds with the antenna direction, ensuring a stylish look while performing to a high standard.
At MWC 2015 in Barcelona, ZTE is exhibiting the spectral efficiency and single-carrier capacity of pre5G base stations, as well as presenting information jointly with China Mobile. ZTE completed joint tests of this product with China Mobile and other leading operators in the world, with both product progress and test data exceeding customers' expectations. This product is expected to be commercially launched on a small scale in 2015.
ZTE adopts 5G as a core strategy, aiming to become a pioneer in the 5G field. In June 2014, ZTE first proposed its innovative pre5G ideas and technology roadmaps, paving the way for great achievements in the commercial use of pre5G. Following upon this success, ZTE will soon launch other pre5G-related key technical solutions, such as ultra-dense network (UDN) and multi-user shared access (MUSA).