ZTE
Encyclopedia
ZTE Corporation formerly Zhongxing Telecommunication Equipment Corporation is a Chinese multinational
telecommunications equipment and systems company headquartered in Shenzhen
, China
. As of 2011 it is the second-largest Chinese telecoms equipment maker (after world number two Huawei
) and the world's fourth-largest mobile phone
manufacturer.
ZTE's core products are wireless
, exchange
, access, optical transmission
and data telecommunications gear; mobile phones; and telecommunications software. It also offers products which provide value-added services, such as video on demand
and streaming media
. ZTE's customers are primarily telecommunications service provider
s and mobile network operator
s. It is also an OEM
and manufactures products which retail under other brand names.
ZTE was founded in 1985 by a group of state-owned enterprises associated with China's Ministry of Aerospace.
having been created in 1985 by a group of state-owned enterprises associated with China's Ministry of Aerospace. Ties to the state notwithstanding, the corporation is 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.
While the company initially profited from domestic sales, it vowed to use money from its 2004 Hong Kong IPO to further expand R&D, overseas sales to developed nations and overseas production. Making headway in the international telecom market in 2006, it took 40% of new global orders for CDMA networks topping the world CDMA equipment market by number of shipments. That same year also saw ZTE find a customer in the Canadian Telus
and membership in the Wi-Fi Alliance
. 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
, as well as garnering the greatest number of CDMA contracts globally. By 2008 ZTE would be able to claim its customer base was truly global, as it had made sales in 140 countries.
In 2009 the company had become the worldwide third-largest vendor of GSM telecom equipment, and ZTE sales accounted for about 20% of all GSM gear sold throughout the world that year. As of 2011 it holds around 7% of the key 3GPP Long Term Evolution
patents, and that same year it launched world's first smartphone with dual GPS/GLONASS
navigation, MTS 945.
mobile network operator
s, ZTE products also see use in developed countries
as well. The UK's Vodafone
, Canadian Telus
and Public Mobile
, and France Telecom
have all purchased equipment from ZTE.
Many Chinese companies are also ZTE customers, including China Netcom
, China Mobile
, China Satcom, China Telecom
, and China Unicom
.
n market in 2005, and ZTE (Australia) Pty Ltd, as of 2009, acts as the exclusive supplier of ZTE handsets, network cards and other products to customers, such as Telstra
, in Australia.
; it, as of 2008, had hired 50 people, 60% of whom were recruited locally.
, ZTE USA Inc offers wireless handset and networking solutions in the US.
) Ltd. (China) is major player in the global contract manufacturing industry.
a tablet computer
that runs Google Android, the ZTE V9.
In 2011, ZTE announced 2 tablets at Mobile World Congress, the ZTE V11 that runs Android 3.0, and the Z-pad.
telecommunications giant Telenor
, the world’s 6th largest mobile operator, 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.
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
telecommunications equipment and systems company headquartered in Shenzhen
Shenzhen
Shenzhen is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones...
, China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. As of 2011 it is the second-largest Chinese telecoms equipment maker (after world number two Huawei
Huawei
Huawei is a Chinese multinational networking and telecommunications equipment and services company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China...
) and the world's fourth-largest mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
manufacturer.
ZTE's core products are wireless
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
, exchange
Telephone exchange
In the field of telecommunications, a telephone exchange or telephone switch is a system of electronic components that connects telephone calls...
, access, optical transmission
Optical fiber
An optical fiber is a flexible, transparent fiber made of a pure glass not much wider than a human hair. It functions as a waveguide, or "light pipe", to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber. The field of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of...
and data telecommunications gear; mobile phones; and telecommunications software. It also offers products which provide value-added services, such as video on demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
and streaming media
Streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
. ZTE's customers are primarily telecommunications service provider
Telecommunications Service Provider
A telecommunications service provider or TSP is a type of communications service provider that has traditionally provided telephone and similar services...
s and mobile network operator
Mobile network operator
A mobile network operator , also known as mobile phone operator , carrier service provider , wireless service provider, wireless carrier, or cellular company, or mobile network carrier is a telephone company that provides services for mobile phone subscribers.One essential...
s. It is also an OEM
Original Equipment Manufacturer
An original equipment manufacturer, or OEM, manufactures products or components that are purchased by a company and retailed under that purchasing company's brand name. OEM refers to the company that originally manufactured the product. When referring to automotive parts, OEM designates a...
and manufactures products which retail under other brand names.
ZTE was founded in 1985 by a group of state-owned enterprises associated with China's Ministry of Aerospace.
History
ZTE, like many large Chinese companies, has its roots in the Chinese StatePeople's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
having been created in 1985 by a group of state-owned enterprises associated with China's Ministry of Aerospace. Ties to the state notwithstanding, the corporation is publicly traded having made an initial public offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
(IPO) on the Shenzhen stock exchange
Shenzhen Stock Exchange
The Shenzhen Stock Exchange is one of the People's Republic of China's two stock exchanges, alongside the Shanghai Stock Exchange. It is based in Shenzhen, China...
in 1997 and another on the Hong Kong stock exchange
Hong Kong Stock Exchange
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in Hong Kong. It is Asia's third largest stock exchange in terms of market capitalization behind the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange and fifth largest in the world...
in December, 2004.
While the company initially profited from domestic sales, it vowed to use money from its 2004 Hong Kong IPO to further expand R&D, overseas sales to developed nations and overseas production. Making headway in the international telecom market in 2006, it took 40% of new global orders for CDMA networks topping the world CDMA equipment market by number of shipments. That same year also saw ZTE find a customer in the Canadian Telus
TELUS
Telus is a national telecommunications company in Canada that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services including internet access, voice, entertainment, video, and satellite television. The company is based in Burnaby, British Columbia, part of Greater Vancouver...
and membership in the Wi-Fi Alliance
Wi-Fi Alliance
The Wi-Fi Alliance is a trade association that promotes Wireless LAN technology and certifies products if they conform to certain standards of interoperability. Not every IEEE 802.11-compliant device is submitted for certification to the Wi-Fi Alliance, sometimes because of costs associated with...
. More customers in developed nations soon followed Telus' lead, and in 2007 ZTE had sold to UK's Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
, Spain's Telefonica
Telefónica
Telefónica, S.A. is a Spanish broadband and telecommunications provider in Europe and Latin America. Operating globally, it is the third largest provider in the world...
and the Australian Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
, as well as garnering the greatest number of CDMA contracts globally. By 2008 ZTE would be able to claim its customer base was truly global, as it had made sales in 140 countries.
In 2009 the company had become the worldwide third-largest vendor of GSM telecom equipment, and ZTE sales accounted for about 20% of all GSM gear sold throughout the world that year. As of 2011 it holds around 7% of the key 3GPP Long Term Evolution
3GPP Long Term Evolution
3GPP Long Term Evolution, usually referred to as LTE, is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals. It is based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA network technologies, increasing the capacity and speed using new modulation techniques...
patents, and that same year it launched world's first smartphone with dual GPS/GLONASS
GLONASS
GLONASS , acronym for Globalnaya navigatsionnaya sputnikovaya sistema or Global Navigation Satellite System, is a radio-based satellite navigation system operated for the Russian government by the Russian Space Forces...
navigation, MTS 945.
Customers
A good number of ZTE's customers are outside of China. While the majority are developing countryDeveloping country
A developing country, also known as a less-developed country, is a nation with a low level of material well-being. Since no single definition of the term developing country is recognized internationally, the levels of development may vary widely within so-called developing countries...
mobile network operator
Mobile network operator
A mobile network operator , also known as mobile phone operator , carrier service provider , wireless service provider, wireless carrier, or cellular company, or mobile network carrier is a telephone company that provides services for mobile phone subscribers.One essential...
s, ZTE products also see use in developed countries
Developed country
A developed country is a country that has a high level of development according to some criteria. Which criteria, and which countries are classified as being developed, is a contentious issue...
as well. The UK's Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
, Canadian Telus
TELUS
Telus is a national telecommunications company in Canada that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services including internet access, voice, entertainment, video, and satellite television. The company is based in Burnaby, British Columbia, part of Greater Vancouver...
and Public Mobile
Public Mobile
Public Mobile is a Canadian mobile phone company, operating in the Greater Toronto Area and Greater Montreal. It is one of several new cellphone providers which launched in 2010 in Canada. Public Mobile operates a CDMA network, and has partnered with Bell Mobility and Telus Mobility to provide...
, and France Telecom
France Télécom
France Telecom S.A. is the main telecommunications company in France, the third-largest in Europe and one of the largest in the world. It currently employs about 180,000 people and has 192.7 million customers worldwide . In 2010 the group had revenue of €45.5 billion...
have all purchased equipment from ZTE.
Many Chinese companies are also ZTE customers, including China Netcom
China Netcom
China Netcom, full name China Netcom Group Corporation Limited , abbreviated CNC, was a former telecommunication service provider in People's Republic of China...
, China Mobile
China Mobile
China Mobile Limited is a Chinese state-owned telecommunication company that provides mobile voice and multimedia services through its nationwide mobile telecommunications network, the largest of its kind in the world...
, China Satcom, China Telecom
China Telecom
China Telecom Corp. Ltd. is a Chinese state-owned telecommunication company. It is the largest fixed line service and 3rd largest mobile telecommunication provider in the People's Republic of China.-Sectors:...
, and China Unicom
China Unicom
China Unicom or China United Netcom Ltd , is a Chinese state-owned telecommunications operator in the People's Republic of China.-History:...
.
Subsidiaries
ZTE has several international subsidiaries and surely more domestic ones.ZTE (Australia) Pty Ltd
ZTE entered the AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n market in 2005, and ZTE (Australia) Pty Ltd, as of 2009, acts as the exclusive supplier of ZTE handsets, network cards and other products to customers, such as Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
, in Australia.
ZTE Deutschland GmbH
ZTE Deutschland GmbH was founded in 2005 with headquarters in DüsseldorfDüsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
; it, as of 2008, had hired 50 people, 60% of whom were recruited locally.
ZTE USA Inc
A North American subsidiary of ZTE, with headquarters in Richardson, TexasRichardson, Texas
Richardson is a city in Dallas and Collin Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 99,223. In 2011 the population was estimated to be 107,684. Richardson is an affluent inner suburb of Dallas and home of the Telecom Corridor with a high...
, ZTE USA Inc offers wireless handset and networking solutions in the US.
ZTE (H.K.) Ltd.
ZTE (Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
) Ltd. (China) is major player in the global contract manufacturing industry.
Products
ZTE presented in the 2010 Mobile World CongressMobile World Congress
The GSMA Mobile World Congress is the combination of the world's largest exhibition for the mobile industry and a conference featuring prominent Chief Executives representing mobile operators, device manufacturers, technology providers, vendors and content owners from across the world...
a tablet computer
Tablet computer
A tablet computer, or simply tablet, is a complete mobile computer, larger than a mobile phone or personal digital assistant, integrated into a flat touch screen and primarily operated by touching the screen...
that runs Google Android, the ZTE V9.
In 2011, ZTE announced 2 tablets at Mobile World Congress, the ZTE V11 that runs Android 3.0, and the Z-pad.
Legal controversies
ZTE has experienced several legal controversies, most involving attempts to bribe officials in the hope of winning national contracts.Norway
NorwegianNorway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
telecommunications giant Telenor
Telenor
Telenor Group is the incumbent telecommunications company in Norway, with headquarters located at Fornebu, close to Oslo. Today, Telenor Group is mostly an international wireless carrier with operations in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Asia, working predominantly under the Telenor brand...
, the world’s 6th largest mobile operator, 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.