ZTE has opened a new research and development center in Tokyo, Japan, which will focus on the development of 5G and other next-generation network technologies.
The new center will support ZTE’s partnerships with operators and academic institutions in Japan on the deployment of ZTE’s Pre5G technology and ongoing research on 4G and 5G mobile communications, the company said.
“Japan is home to many of ZTE’s most important customers, and we will continue to increase our investment in this key market,” ZTE president and CEO Shi Lirong said.
“The new R&D center will enable ZTE to recruit top local talent to join in our research on next-generation technologies.”
ZTE now operates 20 R&D centers in Asia, North America and Europe. The latest opening marks ZTE’s latest efforts in boosting 5G research.
In July, ZTE signed an MoU with Softbank to jointly researching and developing networking equipment based on ZTE’s Pre5G technology.
ZTE proposed the Pre5G concept in June last year and the company launched the Pre5G base station integrating the BBU and RRU at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in March.
Separately, ZTE has signed a new licensing agreement with Qualcomm covering both mobile devices and infrastructure equipment of 3G and 4G.
Under the terms of the deal, Qualcomm has granted ZTE royalty-bearing patent licenses to develop, manufacture, and sell 3G and 4G products, such as smartphones, modules, and infrastructure equipment, including 3-mode (LTE-TDD, TD-SCDMA and GSM) smartphones sold for use in China.
The deal features terms in line with the rectification measures that Qualcomm submitted to China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in February, under which Qualcomm has agreed to charge royalties of 5% for 3G devices and 3.5% for 4G devices that do not implement CDMA or W-CDMA.