High-frequency communication is a critical area of technology in 5G. This ZTE-developed prototype operates on a 15 GHz carrier with a bandwidth of 500 MB and boasts a hardware structure of a large-capacity baseband unit (BBU) and an intelligent remote radio unit (RRU).

Its high-frequency, ultra-wideband and compact design optimizes performance and provides a multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) peak bitrate as high as 10 Gbps+. It also uses beamforming technology so that mobile terminals can be tracked by multiple beams rapidly and adaptively to achieve 3D coverage in all directions and adapt to different user applications.

The prototype is designed for the commercial use of 5G, which will cover a wide range of the spectrum from low bands to high bands, hence making the air interface design more complicated. ZTE’s 5G high-frequency prototype can make this easier and more efficient by integrating large-scale antenna arrays, standardizing the air interface design, and using Mobile Broadband (MBB) to support diversified 5G services.

“As the enabler of M-ICT, ZTE is willing to go hand in hand with operators to empower the world with technology. Our mantra is — ‘Tomorrow Never Waits!’” said Mr. Xu Huijun, CTO of ZTE.