ZTE gets certified from WiMAX forum

NEW DELHI, INDIA: ZTE Corporation, provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, continues to get international recognition for its WiMAX solutions and proactive initiative in providing the industry with telecom equipment that meet strict testing procedures.

The company today disclosed that the WiMAX ForumTM has awarded its 3.5GHz WiMAX 16e System equipment  the ZTE B9100+R9100 base stations, the impressive Wave2 Qualification Certification. This is the first time that a company in the world has successfully passed the Wave2 Certification for its 3.5GHz WiMAX 16e system.

The WiMAX ForumTM drives a common global standard for certification of interoperable high performance IP based broadband wireless equipment supporting stationary, portable and mobile applications.

Through this certification, interoperability and mass production is promoted, which in turn will lower the price and ensure a widespread adoption of WiMAX Forum CertifiedTM equipment. To achieve official WiMAX certification, the equipment, which includes the base station and the subscriber unit, must demonstrate both conformance and interoperability.

The recognition comes after two other certifications were handed out by WiMAX ForumTM to ZTE late last year. In August 2008, the company received the certification for its WiMAX 16e Terminal solutions from WiMAX ForumTM. Later in October 2008, its WiMAX 16e System equipment was also awarded the Wave2 Qualification Certification the first Chinese company to ever achieve dual recognition for both 2.5GHz and 3.5GHz WiMAX system equipment. It is also the only telecom equipment vendor to receive the most number of WiMAX ForumTM Wave2 certifications.

ZTE B9100+R9100 is a distributed base station system developed on MicroTCA hardware platform equipped with outstanding technical features such as easy upgrade path, highly compact design, and with the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO) in the industry.

It supports advanced MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology, which enhances signal transmission quality of single base station. ZTE B9100+R9100 ensures high transmission rate, wide network coverage, and minimal interference, thereby significantly improving network performance. In addition, it helps telecom operators to reduce their network implementation cost, decrease deployment time, as well as minimize operating and maintenance costs.

Besides meeting all the requirements for the Wave2 Certification process for its B9100+R9100 equipment, ZTE is also one of the few telecom vendors participating in the IO MIMO testing.  It is the only vendor in the industry today that has completed 5MHz, 7MHz and 10MHz spectrum testing procedures, demonstrating a remarkable compatibility and expandability of its B9100+R9100 WiMAX base stations. As a result, telecom operators are given a wide range of choices in deploying WiMAX network.

“We are honored to receive the WiMAX Forum’s 3.5GHz Wave2 Certification for our WiMAX products. This further proves that the industry recognizes the seamless compatibility and maturity of our WiMAX equipment system. It also demonstrates our commitment in helping push the adoption of WiMAX technology and in playing a key role to drive the development and standardization of WiMAX in the industry,” said Zhao Songpu, ZTE’s General Manager of WiMAX products. 

The Wave2 Certification is issued by the WiMAX Forum Certification Organization to help stimulate the standardization and effectiveness of WiMAX equipment and terminal products among industry manufacturers.

The certification is only awarded to products or solutions that pass a series of stringent testing administered by a group of technical experts. This testing uses a set up of professional and rigorous standards, including thousands of test items ranging from contents of the protocol conformance to what the product can achieve, including its overall performance.

ZTE is one of the few vendors in the world that pioneered research and development on WiMAX. It is also the only Chinese company with a representative in the 15 man Board of Directors in the WiMAX ForumTM, and with about a dozen of WiMAX R&D institutions located in different regions globally.

As of November 2008, ZTE has already deployed more than 30 WiMAX 16e networks across different regions and countries, including Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the Americas region.