In the current background of sluggish global economic growth, mobile operators are becoming increasingly cautious about their investments and seeking higher efficiency product solutions. In a recent interview with Mr. Shen Jianda, Vice President of ZTE, he highlighted ZTE’s product and solutions to help operators reduce costs and improve efficiency. It includes the industry-leading UBR which offers simple site solutions, the FMM product that greatly enhances 4G spectrum efficiency while supporting a smooth transition to 5G, and the PowerPilot Pro energy-saving solution to minimise network energy consumption.
Industry-unique UBR provide the simplest site solution and maximising tower space utilsation
The increasingly complex sites and crowded towers call for stronger and simpler network setups. Mr. Shen noted, “Currently, 70% of operators have more than four frequency bands, leading to overcrowded sites and difficult to install new 5G RF modules. Moreover, RAN sharing is becoming more popular, placing higher demands on site equipment capabilities, including frequency, bandwidth and output power.”
By utilising UBR, base station tower space can be significantly reduced. “ZTE UBR continuously improves capabilities in all aspects, including industry leading in-house design chips, modular architecture and PA efficiency improvement, our new generation UBR integration further enhanced and achieves industry-unique 5-band UBR, three-sector integrated UBR and the industry’s highest-powered RRU.” Mr. Shen explained, “The 5-band UBR could integrate any five frequency bands in the low-frequency (700~900MHz) and mid-high frequency (1.8~2.6GHz) ranges, 1 module cover the typical frequencies. The three-sector integrated UBR includes 6T and 12T products, with a single module covering three sectors. Also ZTE RRU has a maximum output power of 12*120=1440W, doubling the industry’s previous maximum of 4*180=720W.” He added, “In a typical 5-band site, using 6T low-band+ 12T mid-band UBR reduces the number of modules on the tower by over 80% comparing with traditional solutions.”
ZTE’s new generation UBR has been deployed in more than 30 projects worldwide, including China, Malaysia, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Nigeria, Turkey and South Africa, with over 150,000 units shipped.
FDD Massive MIMO Breaking Through 4G Capacity Limits and Offering a 5G-Like Experience
As mobile networks continue to evolve, the demand for traffic is increasing. According to GlobalData statistics and forecasts, mobile network traffic doubled from 2020 to 2023, and is expected to grow by another 2.6 times between 2023 and 2028. While 5G traffic is growing, 4G traffic will still play an important role in the coming years. By 2025, 4G and 5G traffic will be evenly distributed, and by 2028, 4G will still account for one-third of the total traffic, with the remaining two-thirds on 5G.
In response to the above trend, Shen said, “This puts significant capacity pressure on networks. Traditional expansion solutions, such as adding frequency bands or sectors, may still leave sites under capacity pressure. Therefore, finding ways to further improve capacity and efficiency, while balancing the development of both 4G and 5G, is a key challenge for operators.”
ZTE introduced FDD Massive MIMO technology to drive the evolution of FDD mid-band, known as the “golden band.” This technology upgrades equipment from 2TR/4TR to 32TR, improving spectrum efficiency by five times. It allows operators to relieve traffic pressure, enhance user experiences, and roll out new 5G services. Mr. Shen noted, ”ZTE has launched the industry first FDD Massive MIMO products since 2016, and the latest FMM supports multi-RAT, including 3G, 4G, 5G, and NB-IoT. The 1.8G+2.1G dual-band FMM has an output power of 480W, while the 1.8G+2.1G+2.6G tri-band FMM delivers an industry-leading 720W, enhancing both capacity and coverage .”
Currently, over 12,000 FMMs are deployed globally, with networks like AIS, VEON, CelcomDigi, UMobile, MTN, Djezzy, CMPak, Entel, Digicel, etc, reporting significant performance improvements.
Leading green energy solutions to lower OPEX and enhance energy efficiency for long-term sustainability
For operators, energy and electricity costs account for about 80-90% of network expenditures (excluding site rental costs), making energy efficiency a core strategic focus within the telecom ecosystem. Many leading mobile network operators have recognised the importance of improving network solutions, with more efficient equipment seen as a key standard for cost savings. Also approximately 85% of global operators have committed to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI) to achieve net-zero emissions, with most aiming for 2050. Additionally, some operators, such as Vodafone, Telefónica, Orange, and MTN, have pledged to reach net zero by 2040.
Through multi-level solutions at the component, site, and network levels, ZTE has created a perfect bit/watt efficiency curve, achieving the lowest energy consumption at any load. Shen Jianda said, “At the component level, ZTE’s unique Super-N architecture power amplifier array ensures constant efficiency. The PA efficiency is higher than industry standards across all load levels, with a 3X improvement at 10% load, 1.5X at 30% load, and constant efficiency above 30% load. At the site level, ZTE has introduced the industry’s first AAU/RRU hibernation function, achieving 0 bit, 0 watt. Over 400,000 RRU/AAUs are commercially deployed, saving 40 million kWh annually. Not only outdoor equipment but also for QCell, the pico RRU for indoor coverage, 0 watt at 0 bit can also be realised. The QCell can be turned-off and waked-up on-demand, when there is no traffic, it is turned-off in a second, and when there is access attempt, it can be waked-up as quick as seconds. At the network level, ZTE’s network levle AI + BS native AI dual-layer intelligent energy-saving solution, PowerPilot Pro, reduces power consumption by up to 35%. Network-level intelligence ensures multi-level energy-saving features through precise traffic load forecasting, combined strategy decisions, and a balance between performance and energy consumption, achieving an activation rate of over 90% for energy-saving functions. Independent of network-level AI platforms, BS (base station) native AI enables real-time decision making of energy saving, balancing user experience and energy consumption with user location and services awareness. Network resources can be distributed optimally based on real-time needs with deep learning of service patterns by integrating native-AI into base stations. ”
ZTE, driven by technical innovation and customer-oriented, will continue to evolve its products and solutions to meet the ever-changing demands of the market. By providing high efficient products and superior network performance, ZTE is committed to becoming a reliable long-term partner with customers.
