Following the cooperation agreement signed with UAE (United Arab Emirates) -based telecom operator Etisalat in October 2009, Chinese telecom equipment supplier ZTE recently announced the completion of indoor and field tests on a LTE (Long Term Evolution) network operated by Etisalat, according to a press release by ZTE on June 24. ZTE stated that the company was awarded with an LTE/SAE (System Architecture Evolution) test certificate from Etisalat. The field tests were conducted in Abu Dhabi, where telecom operator's headquarters is located, and measured the network infrastructure - comprising LTE base stations, SAE core network, unified network management software, and test terminals - in terms of functionality and performance, according to the same source. As of April 2010, ZTE deployed five commercial LTE networks and conducted over 40 trials with tier-one operators in Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East.

 

Meanwhile, the other Chinese telecom equipment supplier Huawei recently also announced that the company will collaborate with Italian telecom operator Wind to help the latter deploy a HSPA+ (Evolved High Speed Packet Access)/LTE commercial network in Italy, initially in seven regions, the chinabyte.com reported on June 24. Pursuant to the agreement, Huawei will help Wind deploy an integrated multi-standard platform, which enables in-depth integration of GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), HSPA, and LTE systems, along with core and fiber optic networks. Moreover, Huawei and Wind will also jointly set up an innovative laboratory in Rome focusing on the development of technologies and advanced services in the segments of fixed, mobile telecom, and converged communications. To date, Huawei has been awarded 13 LTE commercial network construction contracts, five of which have been deployed.