Press Release: ZTE USA And Sprint Sign WiMAX Master Purchase Agreement
ZTE USA And Sprint Sign WiMAX Master Purchase Agreement
RESTON, Va., July 17 -- ZTE USA, Inc. a subsidiary of ZTE Corporation, a leading global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, today announced that it has entered into a master purchase agreement with Sprint Nextel. Under the terms of the agreement, ZTE will supply Sprint with WiMAX PC cards in express and USB form factors, and advanced modem solutions for home networking. The agreement was marked by a contract signing ceremony today at Sprint's Herndon, Va. offices involving Mr. Hou Weigui, chairman, ZTE Corporation, and Barry West, President, 4G Mobile Broadband, Sprint.
Sprint plans to make its WiMAX services commercially available to 100 million people in the U.S. by year end 2008. "We chose ZTE because we found the company to be a cutting-edge innovator backed by the engineering resources of an established, leading global brand," said Mr. West.
WiMAX is a standards-based technology that is a high performance, un-tethered alternative to cable and DSL networking. Via a robust, advanced WiMAX network, end-users can have access to anywhere wireless Internet access, without being tied to a single location required by home or public access points, such as Wi-Fi.
ZTE's express and USB cards will equip Sprint subscribers with anywhere wireless data access on their laptop, desktop or mobile device. The home modem can serve as a replacement networking solution for the home cable modem, enabling service providers to quickly roll-out fixed broadband wireless service access via their network. ZTE's modem is also equipped to enable carriers to offer VoIP-based voice services.
"This is an exciting day for ZTE and a significant company milestone. We are honored to be a WiMAX ecosystem partner chosen by Sprint to provide solutions for its advanced wireless broadband network," said Mr. Hou Weigui, chairman, ZTE Corporation. "Maximizing our deep R&D resources and ability to continually and quickly innovate to keep up with market demand, we are looking forward to working with Sprint to bring the next-generation of wireless innovation to U.S. end-users."
About ZTE USA and ZTE
ZTE USA Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of ZTE Corporation, a leading global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, is headquartered in Dallas, TX, with offices in Iselin, NJ; Chicago, IL and San Diego, CA. ZTE USA is leveraging ZTE's proven strength in IP and wireless technologies, strong R&D capability, and strategic industry partnerships to bring innovative wireless and wireline solutions and mobile handsets to the U.S. market. www.zteusa.com
ZTE delivers innovative, custom-made products and services to customers in more than 100 countries, helping them achieve continued revenue growth and shape the future of the world's communications. ZTE commits around 10 percent of annual turnover to research and development and takes a leading role in a wide range of international bodies developing emerging telecoms standards. It is the fastest-growing telecoms equipment company in the world and is China's only listed telecoms manufacturer, with shares publicly traded on both the Hong Kong and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges. ZTE was the only Chinese IT and telecoms manufacturer listed in Business Week's 2005 Information Technology 100.
About Sprint Nextel Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two robust wireless networks serving 53.6 million customers at the end of the first quarter 2007; industry-leading mobile data services; instant national and international walkie-talkie capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.
Source: ZTE USA, Inc.
