ZTE and Intel said they plan to collaborate on verification, evaluation and research of IoT technologies; tap SDN, NFV for 5G BBU.
ZTE and Intel signed a strategic cooperation agreement targeting the internet of things market and announced a collaboration on a “5G” baseband unit.
The IoT agreement calls for the establishment of an innovative lab for research and development of IoT technologies, including experimental verification, evaluation, research and development of related technologies. ZTE and Intel had previously cooperated on IoT access technologies, open source collaboration, IoT platforms and solution integration.
“Intel and ZTE will make joint efforts for the IoT lab,” explained Rose Schooler, VP of Intel’s sales group and GM of Intel Global Internet of Things sales. “With rich experience and continuous innovation, we will create a new generation of IoT solutions for promoting the construction of an IoT application ecosystem as well as the development and prosperity of the IoT industry.”
In terms of the 5G BBU, ZTE said the two firms tapped software-defined networking and network functions virtualization technologies to embed system support for 2G, 3G, LTE and LTE-Advanced technology; and support for cloud radio access network technology, distributed RAN, 5G central and distributed units.
ZTE claimed the new platform is designed to reduce energy use, support vertical business opportunities and a multiscene flexible deployment model.
“5G is part of ZTE’s core strategy and it is dedicated to the [research and development] of virtualization technologies,” said Jianguo Zhang, SVP of ZTE. “The cooperation between ZTE and Intel will deliver a simpler, more flexible and open network to telecom operators and bring bigger value to users.”
