Having delivered and installed the first stage of Hi3G's LTE TDD/FDD dual-mode network, ZTE is now set to deliver infrastructure equipment based on software-defined radio (SDR) technology to upgrade the operator's 3G network in Sweden.
The extended partnership shows that ZTE and Hi3G "have achieved a good understanding of each other's requirements," said Zhu Jinyun, president of ZTE Europe and America, adding the agreement "further strengthens both our companies' positions in LTE in Europe."
The Hi3G network delivers a mix of FDD-LTE 800 MHz and WCDMA 900 MHz services across southern Sweden, with TDD-LTE spectrum also being used in high-demand areas, including the major cities of Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmo.
"TDD-LTE gives us great capability to provide the best possible network capacity where demand is high, but we also have FDD-LTE because we believe that not all devices will support TDD in the future, and of course we have to support all users," said Jorgen Askeroth, CTO of Hi3G.
Hi3G's LTE TDD/FDD dual-mode network, the industry's first, was announced in March 2011. At that time, Hi3G's CEO Peder Ramel said the company selected ZTE to supply additional 3G equipment for the company's 900MHz and 2.1GHz rollout, together with a dual-mode LTE solution, because of the low cost of ownership and the possibility of housing three different mobile standards in the same physical infrastructure.
ZTE said Hi3G's network also represents the world's first commercial network of green, energy-saving dual-mode LTE base stations.
ZTE has worked on more than 30 commercial LTE projects with more than 100 operators around the globe. Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE have long been putting pricing pressure on Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC), Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia Siemens.
Hi3G Access (3 Scandinavia) operates as a subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa and currently provides 3G services in Denmark and Sweden.
For more:
- see this release
- see this Telegeography article
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