As part of the cooperation agreement, ZTE will supply 5G-Advanced products

Chinese vendor ZTE Corporation, together with China Mobile Research Institute and Guangzhou MINO Equipment, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation on 5G Advanced (5G-A) industrial field network technology, the vendor said in a release.

Under the terms of the agreement, the three parties will collaborate on the research and applications of key technologies of 5G-A industrial field networks. Guided by China Mobile Research Institute and building upon China Mobile’s 5G-A industrial field network solution, the three parties will focus on R&D and industrialization of 5G-A technologies in response to industrial Internet scenario requirements, ZTE said.

As part of the deal, ZTE will provide 5G-A products and solutions while MINO Equipment will offer an industrial implementation platform based on its application scenarios and data in the industrial manufacturing field. The three partners will also jointly explore 5G-A commercial models and expand the industrial ecosystem.

Ding Haiyu, vice dean of China Mobile Research Institute, stated that 5G-A has enormous potential for industrial development, adding that this cooperation is an important part of building the 5G-A industry ecosystem. “China Mobile Research Institute is willing to collaborate with partners to engage in technological innovation and exert efforts to further empower various industries with 5G-A technology.”

Meanwhile, Tang Xue, vice president of ZTE, said that this strategic cooperation will help the vendor form a closed loop in the industrial chain with partners, enabling 5G-A technical solutions to take root in the industrial Internet and pave the way for industrial digital transformation.

Zuo Zhijun, dean of Guangzhou MINO Equipment Intelligent Manufacturing and Advanced Technology Research Institute, said: “MINO Equipment has always been deeply involved in the field of intelligent manufacturing, and will continue to apply new technologies such as 5G and 5G-A to the intelligent upgrade of manufacturing to provide customers with IDS industrial data services, intelligent manufacturing full-stack solutions and MaaS intelligent manufacturing technology services.”

ZTE also highlighted that the signing of this 5G-A industrial field network technology cooperation agreement will further enhance the cooperation and collaborative innovation and will also help promote the development and maturity of the industrial chain of 5G-A technology.

3GPP Release 18 marks the start of 5G Advanced, which builds on the 5G baseline defined by 3GPP in previous Releases 15, 16, and 17. There is a wide consensus in the industry that 5G Advanced will bring new enhancements to current mobile network capabilities and use case-based support to help mobile operators with 5G commercialization, long-term development of Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML) and network energy savings for a fully automated network. 5G Advanced will also bring system-level enhancements to the 5G NR standard, while also optimizing capabilities for specific vertical industries and applications