ZTE claims that the technology will provide significantly faster speeds on 4G networks, and a commercial trial is due to begin early next year.
“ZTE is making great investments in 5G to lead the industry in the development of this key technology of the future,” said Zhang Rejun, SVP at ZTE.
Pre-5G is thought to be the intermediate step between 4G and 5G technology, with the latter expected to be up and running by 2020.
Li Cui, VP at ZTE, said: “Our goal is to utilise core 5G technologies on existing commercial networks…so users can enjoy the 5G experience ahead of time.”
The Chinese vendor is spending an alleged $220 million worldwide on 5G and other mobile technologies between 2015 and 2018, and in April, the company posted a 42% increase in quarterly net profit.
SoftBank has close ties with the Chinese tech industry and Keiichi Makizono, SoftBank SVP, said: “The technology being developed under this agreement will help define future mobile internet communications.”
