Under the memorandum of understanding (MOU), ZTE and KT will launch 5G Test Bed construction in Seoul, and jointly develop, present, and design the future 5G network architecture based on the Test Bed. The partnership between ZTE and KT will help advance 5G standardization and the development of the industry ecosystem globally. The agreement was announced at the Mobile World Congress Shanghai conference.

“ZTE is committed to help operators transition successfully to 5G technology, and the agreement with a strong partner such as KT will strengthen our core capabilities,” said Xu Huijun, Senior Vice President of ZTE. “ZTE has a wealth of experience in technology development and network evolution. We believe that the Pre5G technology can better meet practical requirements for seamless development of networks.”

The South Korean government has been using communications technologies as a key means of achieving creative economy, and has placed ICT as a pillar industry of its national strategy. Korea was among the first to offer 3G and 4G services. A report of the global CDN service provider Akamai shows that South Korea has the fastest Internet, highest broadband coverage rate, and highest LTE coverage rate, and was the world's first to put LTE and LTE-A technologies into commercial use.

To take the lead in the 5G era, three major operators in South Korea have announced that they will bring forward deployment plans. In its plan to lead the industry in 5G research and standardization, KT plans to launch commercial 5G networks in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in 2018. ZTE Pre5G uses some 5G technologies directly on 4G networks, and provides users with 5G-like experience on 4G terminals without changing the air interface standard.