Alibaba deploys ZTE broadband tech for China Singles’ Day

SHENZHEN, CHINA: ZTE Corporation (ZTE), a publicly-listed global provider of telecommunications equipment, network solutions and mobile devices, has provided mission-critical high-speed data transmission systems to help Alibaba Group handle a record-breaking surge in online shopping traffic on China Singles' Day on 11 November, the busiest day of the year for Internet retailers in China.

ZXONE 8700, ZTE's industry-leading series of 100 Gigabits per second (100G) optical transport network systems, carried 90 per cent of Alibaba's operating data traffic on China Singles' Day, as a surge in online shopping orders pushed Alibaba's peak data traffic to almost 300 Gbits per second, sustained for a period of 7 hours.

For the 24-hour duration of China Singles' Day, ZTE's OTN systems deployed by Alibaba delivered excellent network performance and fault-free reliability, with no malfunction warning reported. The unprecedented network traffic volume on Alibaba's platforms on China Singles' Day presented the sternest examination of the capabilities of ZXONE 8700. The ultra-high bandwidth, large-capacity and robust ZXONE 8700 proved equal to the challenge.

In anticipation of China Singles' Day, ZTE created a special task force to support Alibaba, developing contingency plans and emergency solutions, and conducted meticulous testing of core systems and backup equipment. Network specialists and product development engineers at ZTE collaborated to develop a comprehensive set of solutions intended for various emergency scenarios, ensuring speedy system fault diagnosis and fast replacement of malfunctioning equipment to provide rapid service recovery. ZTE's special Alibaba taskforce provided round-the-clock support in the run-up to China Singles' Day at more than 10 Alibaba's OTN Wide Area Networks (WAN) sites including Hangzhou and Qingdao. A fleet of emergency vehicles was on standby for rapid deployment at Alibaba's Hangzhou headquarters.

In June, ZTE was the sole winning bidder in Alibaba's tender for 100G OTN network, and was entrusted to help build the broadband network infrastructure supporting Alibaba's e-commerce platforms including Alibaba.com, Taobao Marketplace, Tmall.com, eTao, Alipay, Juhuasuan and Alibaba Cloud Computing. ZTE completed equipment delivery within 20 days of the signing of the agreement with Alibaba, and ZTE took fewer than 10 days to complete testing for the 100G and 80G networks. ZTE's rapid delivery and network installation capabilities exceeded the expectations of Alibaba.