ZTE

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For other uses, see ZTE (disambiguation).
ZTE Corporation
Native name
 中兴通讯股份有限公司
Formerly called
 Zhongxing Telecommunication Equipment Corporation
Public
Traded as SZSE: 000063
SEHK: 0763
Industry Telecommunications equipment
Networking equipment
Founded 1985; 31 years ago (1985)
Founder Hóu Wéiguì (侯为贵)
Headquarters Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 Hóu Wéiguì (Chairman)
Shǐ Lìróng (史立荣) (President)[1]
Products Mobile phones, smartphones, tablet computers, hardware, software and services to telecommunications service providers and enterprises
Revenue Increase CN¥81.471 billion (2014)[2]
Increase CN¥3.538 billion (2014)[2]
Increase CN¥2.634 billion (2014)[2]
Total assets Increase CN¥106.214 billion (2014)[2]
Number of employees
 69,093 (2014)[1]
Website www.zte.com.cn
www.ztedevice.com
ZTE
Simplified Chinese 中兴通讯股份有限公司
Traditional Chinese 中興通訊股份有限公司
Literal meaning China-Prosperity Communications Corporation

ZTE Corporation is a Chinese multinational telecommunications equipment and systems company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong.

ZTE operates in three business units: carrier networks (54%), terminals (29%) and telecommunication (17%). ZTE's core products are wireless, exchange, access, optical transmission, and data telecommunications gear; mobile phones; and telecommunications software.[3] It also offers products that provide value-added services,[4] such as video on demand and streaming media.[5] ZTE primarily sells products under its own name but it is also an OEM.[6]

ZTE is one of the top five largest smartphone manufacturers in its home market,[7] and worldwide, in the top ten.

History[edit]

ZTE, initially founded as Zhongxing Semiconductor Co., Ltd in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, in 1985, was incorporated by a group of investors associated with China's Ministry of Aerospace.[8] In March 1993, Zhongxing Semiconductor has changed its name to Zhongxing New Telecommunications Equipment Co., Ltd with capital of RMB 3 million, and created a new business model as a "state-owned and private-operating" economic entity. Ties to the state notwithstanding, the corporation has evolved into ZTE Corporation of being publicly traded having made an initial public offering (IPO) on the Shenzhen stock exchange in 1997 and another on the Hong Kong stock exchange in December, 2004.[8]

While the company initially profited from domestic sales,[9] it vowed to use money from its 2004 Hong Kong IPO to further expand R&D, overseas sales to developed nations, and overseas production.[10] Making headway in the international telecom market in 2006, it took 40% of new global orders for CDMA networks[11] topping the world CDMA equipment market by number of shipments.[12] That same year also saw ZTE find a customer in the Canadian Telus[13] and membership in the Wi-Fi Alliance.[14] More customers in developed nations soon followed Telus' lead, and in 2007 ZTE had sold to UK's Vodafone, Spain's Telefonica, and the Australian Telstra,[13] as well as garnering the greatest number of CDMA contracts globally.[15] By 2008 ZTE could claim its customer base was truly global, as it had made sales in 140 countries.[13]

In 2009, the company had become the worldwide third-largest vendor of GSM telecom equipment, and about 20% of all GSM gear sold throughout the world that year was ZTE branded.[16] As of 2011 it holds around 7% of the key 3GPP Long Term Evolution patents[17] and that same year launched the world's first smartphone with dual GPS/GLONASS navigation, MTS 945. ZTE claims to devote 10% of its annual revenue on research and development each year, and it could be producing patents and utility licenses at a furious pace.[18][19] ZTE has filed 48,000 patents globally, and with more than 13,000 patents granted. 90% more patents are invention-related. In two consecutive years (2011 and 2012), ZTE has been granted the largest number of patent applications globally,[20] which is the first for a Chinese company.[21]

Subsidiaries[edit]

The ZTE Tower in Shenzhen

ZTE has several international subsidiaries.

ZTEsoft Technology[edit]

As a subsidiary of ZTE Corporation, ZTEsoft engages in ICT industry and specializes in providing BSS/OSS, big data products and services to telecom operators, and ICT, smart city and industry products and services to enterprises and governments.

PT. ZTE Indonesia[edit]

PT ZTE Indonesia were representative of ZTE with has many customer with PT Telkom Indonesia tbk, PT Telekomunikasi Seluler tbk, PT Indosat tbk, PT Smartfren tbk, PT XL Axiata, and also supply hand held with ZTE Trademarks.

ZTE (Australia) Pty Ltd[edit]

ZTE entered the Australian market in 2005,[22] and as of 2009 ZTE (Australia) Pty Ltd[23] acts as the exclusive supplier of ZTE handsets, network cards, and as OEM Supplier to customers, such as Telstra, and Optus in Australia.

ZTE Deutschland GmbH[edit]

ZTE Deutschland GmbH was founded in 2005 with headquarters in Düsseldorf; it, as of 2008, had hired 50 people, 60% of whom were recruited locally.[24] ZTE Deutschland GmbH partners with German football club Borussia Mönchengladbach for the seasons of 2016/17 and 2017/18.[25]

ZTE USA Inc[edit]

A North American subsidiary of ZTE,[26] with headquarters in Richardson, Texas,[27] ZTE USA Inc offers wireless handset and networking products in the US. ZTE USA partnered with NBA's Houston Rockets for the season of 2013-2014[26]

ZTE Telecom India Pvt Ltd[edit]

ZTE Telecom India Private Limited provides distributes telecom equipment and systems. The company also provides repair, support, and maintenance services for its telecom equipment. ZTE Telecom India Private Limited was formerly known as ZTE Kangxun Telecom Company India Private Limited. The company was founded in 2003 and is based in Gurgaon, India.

ZTE (HK) Ltd[edit]

ZTE (Hong Kong) Ltd. (China) serves in such areas as global contract manufacturing.

ZTE do Brasil Ltda.[edit]

ZTE do Brasil Ltda. was founded in 2002 with headquarters in São Paulo and offices in Rio de Janeiro and Brasília; providing mobile devices and network products for the Brazilian market.

ZTE Pakistan Pvt Ltd[edit]

ZTE[28] was introduced in the Pakistani market in 1999 with its headquarters in Islamabad and major offices in Lahore and Karachi. Providing telecom equipment, network products and managed services to telecom operators in Pakistan i.e. PTCL, Telenor, Mobilink, Zong, Special Communications Organization (SCO).

ZTE Myanmar[edit]

ZTE Myanmar is also a fully owned subsidiary of ZTE Corporation


Zonergy[edit]

Main article: Zonergy

Zonergy is a renewables company with interests in electricity generation through solar parks in China and Pakistan and palm oil cultivation in Indonesia to produce biofuels. ZTE is a major shareholder and was instrumental in the creation of the company in 2007 but holds a minority of the shares in the entity.[29]

Products[edit]

A ZTE Blade S6 Plus

ZTE operates in three business segments - Carrier Networks(~54%)-Terminals(~29%)-Telecommunication(~17%) Products can be roughly arranged into three categories: equipment used by network operators (links and nodes, etc.), equipment used to access networks (terminals), and services, which includes software.[30] On October 2010, ZTE's unified encryption module received U.S./Canada FIPS140-2 security certification,[31][32] which made ZTE the first vendor from P.R. China to successfully validate modules according to the NIST FIPS140-2 standard under the CMVP program.[33]

Consumer electronics[edit]

Mobile phones

As of 2012, ZTE is the 4th largest mobile phone vendor.[34] It also placed within IDC's Top 5 smartphone vendor leaderboard.[35][36] Strategy Analytics counts ZTE as 4th largest smartphone vendor (5% market share) in 2Q2013.[37] It also manufactures tablets.[38][39][40]

Mobile Hotspots

The MF60 and MF80 4G mobile hotspots were announced in August 2011.[41]

Windows Phone

At Mobile World Congress 2014 in Spain, Microsoft announced that ZTE is the latest hardware partner of Windows Phone platform.[42]

Network Operators Equipment, Network Nodes and Network Elements[edit]

ZTE is also a provider of Core Routing and Core Network equipment, also known as Network Elements such as:

Customers[edit]

ZTE booth at Mobile World Congress 2015 in Barcelona

A good number of ZTE's customers are outside of China. During the 2000s, the majority were developing country mobile network operators, but ZTE products see use in developed countries as well. The UK's Vodafone, Canadian Telus, Australia's Telstra, as well as France Telecom have all purchased equipment from ZTE.[44]

Many Chinese companies are also ZTE customers, including China Netcom,[45] China Mobile,[46] China Satcom,[47] China Telecom,[48] and China Unicom.[4][49]

In the United States, ZTE USA manufactures mobile phones and broadband devices for multiple wireless carriers including AT&T, Boost Mobile, Cricket Wireless, MetroPCS, Sprint, T-Mobile, TracFone, Verizon, and Virgin Mobile. It may also sell network equipment to these carriers.

Sponsorship[edit]

In May 2016, ZTE became the co-sponsor of German club Borussia Mönchengladbach.[50]

In May 2016, ZTE's Nubia brand signed football star Cristiano Ronaldo as a brand ambassador for a reported fee of $4 million.[51]

Controversies[edit]

Bribes for contracts[edit]

Norway

Norwegian telecommunications giant Telenor, one of the world’s largest mobile operators, banned ZTE from "participating in tenders and new business opportunities because of an alleged breach of its code of conduct in a procurement proceeding" during a five-month time span ending in March 2009.[52]

Philippines
Main article: Philippine National Broadband Network controversy

Contract negotiations to build a broadband network for the Philippine government may have included improper activities.[53] The project was later canceled.[53]

Surveillance system sale[edit]

In December 2010, ZTE sold systems for eavesdropping on phone and Internet communications to the government-controlled Telecommunication Company of Iran.[54] This system may help Iran monitor and track political dissidents.

Handset security[edit]

At least one ZTE mobile phone (sold as the ZTE Score in the United States by Cricket and MetroPCS) can be remotely accessed by anyone with an easily obtained password.[34]

In 2012, politicians in the United States of America raised other security concerns regarding ZTE and another Chinese wireless equipment manufacturer, Huawei.[55]


  1. ^ a b "Annual Report 2011" (PDF). ZTE Corporation. Retrieved 26 April 2012. 
  2. ^ a b c d "Annual Report 2014" (PDF). ZTE. 2015-04-08. Retrieved 2015-05-22. 
  3. ^ Product Portfolio ZTE Official Site
  4. ^ a b ZTE Secures More than Half of China Unicom GSM Value-Added Service System 2008 Tender ZTE Official Site, 2008-12-15
  5. ^ ZTE Corp's Company Description Businessweek.com
  6. ^ UPDATE 3-LSI sees second half better than first reuters.com, Wed 26 January 2011 9:14pm EST
  7. ^ For top five in China, see "Apple Competes for Bigger Slice of China's Smartphone Market Share." Khaleej Times (Dubai, United Arab Emirates). Al Bawaba (Middle East) Ltd. 2014. HighBeam Research. 22 May. 2014
  8. ^ a b 20 Years History of ZTE Corporation by Mr. Huang Guo in 2005
  9. ^ UPDATE 1-ZTE says 2010 net profit up 32 pct on better sales reuters.com, Thu 27 January 2011 6:33am EST
  10. ^ A Global Telecom Titan Called...ZTE? Businessweek.com, 7 March 2005
  11. ^ China-based Huawei and Murali make headway in global telecom market DigiTimes.com. 9 March 2007
  12. ^ ZTE tops 2006 international CDMA market. CIOL Bureau. 8 March 2007
  13. ^ a b c History ZTE Official Site
  14. ^ ZTE joins Wi-Fi Alliance----- one of the first Chinese members ZTE Official Site, 2006-08-30
  15. ^ ZTE Tops 2007 Global CDMA Market ZTE Official Site, 2008-01-30
  16. ^ INTERVIEW-China's ZTE aims for fifth of global GSM gear market reuters.com, Tue 17 Nov 2009 10:53pm EST
  17. ^ China's ZTE targets 10 pct of LTE patents reuters.com, Tue 11 January 2011 11:07am EST
  18. ^ "ZTE Ranked World No. 1 in Patent Applications for Second Straight Year". cnbc.com. CNBC. Retrieved 20 March 2013. 
  19. ^ Strong Growth in Demand for Intellectual Property Rights in 2012
  20. ^ International Patent Filings Set New Record in 2011
  21. ^ Yahoo reported ZTE as first Chinese company to rank No.1 in global patent applications
  22. ^ About ZTE ZTE Australia Official Site
  23. ^ Global Sales Offices > Asia Pacific ZTE Official Site
  24. ^ ZTE opens new office in Bonn, Germany ZTE Official Site, 2008-11-18
  25. ^ ZTE Becomes Co-Sponsor of Top German Football Team Borussia Mönchengladbach
  26. ^ a b Pocket Communications Launches ZTE's Tri-Band C79 and C78 ZTE Official Site,2009-04-02
  27. ^ ZTE Opens LTE Laboratory in North America ZTE Official Site, 2009-10-20
  28. ^ ZTE Pakistan Official Site
  29. ^ Brautigam, Deborah (2015). Will Africa Feed China?. New York: Oxford University Press. 
  30. ^ "ZTE Corp (ZTCOF.PK): Overview; Full description". Thompson Reuters. Retrieved 2012-05-13. 
  31. ^ ZTE Unified Platform Cryptographic Library Version 1.1
  32. ^ ZTE Unified Element Management Platform Cryptographic Module Version 4.11.10
  33. ^ ATSEC participated in ZTE products security evaluations
  34. ^ a b Jeremy Wagstaff; Lee Chyen Yee (18 May 2012). "ZTE confirms security hole in U.S. phone". reuters.com. Thompson Reuters. Retrieved 2012-05-20. 
  35. ^ IDC: Samsung extends lead over Apple while Chinese vendors increase influence
  36. ^ IDC: Growth Accelerates in the Worldwide Mobile Phone and Smartphone Markets in the second Quarter, 2013
  37. ^ Strategy Analytics: Global Smartphone shipments Hit Record 230 Million Units in Q2 2013
  38. ^ ZTE Launches Two Android Tablets: Dual-core Z-pad and Android 3.0 V11 at MWC
  39. ^ ZTE V9 Android tablet revealed androidcommunity.com, 12 October 2010
  40. ^ V9 product page ZTE Official Site
  41. ^ [1] Archived 27 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
  42. ^ "Microsoft Announces ZTE As New Windows Phone Hardware Partner". 
  43. ^ [2]
  44. ^ For Vodafone and France Telecom sales, see ZTE Wins China Mobile WAP Expansion Contract ZTE Official Site, 20071016
  45. ^ China Netcom´s first IPTV agreement confirms ZTE as major international IPTV network provider ZTE Official Site, 20060830
  46. ^ ZTE to Install the World´s Largest Optical Transmission Network ZTE Official Site, 20060830
  47. ^ ZTE and China Satcom to provide GoTa network for China´s 10th National Games ZTE Official Site, 20060830
  48. ^ ZTE Bags Major Value Added Services Contracts in China ZTE Official Site, 2006/11/14
  49. ^
  50. ^ "Chinese brand ZTE becomes co-sponsor of Borussia Mönchengladbach". GSM Insider. 22 May 2016. 
  51. ^ "Chinese brand Nubia signs Cristiano Ronaldo as brand ambassador". GSM Insider. 22 May 2016. 
  52. ^ Norway's telco giant bans ZTE for 6 months abs-cbnnews.com, 10/21/2008
  53. ^ a b Arroyo suspends telecoms deal with Chinese firm reuters.com, Sep 22, 2007
  54. ^ Steve Stecklow (22 March 2012). "Special Report: Chinese firm helps Iran spy on citizens". Reuters. Retrieved 23 March 2012. 
  55. ^ U.S. panel cites risks in Chinese Equipment 9 October 2012

External links[edit]

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