LIVE FROM ZTE WIRELESS USER CONGRESS AND 5G SUMMIT 2019, VIENNA: A ZTE executive tackled the tricky subject of security, arguing protecting global networks required a coordinated effort by the whole industry rather than being left to individual vendors.

James Zhang, an SVP at the Chinese vendor, explained it had always focussed heavily on cybersecurity, but said collaboration is key to delivering meaningful protections: “You need to align all the ecosystem to improve cybersecurity”.

He noted fresh challenges around 5G deployments, highlighting ZTE’s work in tackling “the complexity” of rollouts. “One important concept of 5G is simplification and how to simplify the deployment of 5G”, he said.

Zhang expressed confidence ZTE can handle competition in the 5G era, as the company has “the deep understanding of each corner of the technology”.

He also noted ZTE is different from its rivals by being an end-to-end provider, covering R&D, chipsets and establishing its own compliance system.

“The transformation from 4G to 5G compared to 3G to 4G is faster. We believe that due to so many factors ZTE can play major contributions to the 5G industry. We continue focusing on our leading technology”.

Zhang noted ZTE sees opportunities for 5G beyond developed markets, citing Latin America as an emerging opportunity. The vendor is already partnering with operators in the region on the next-generation technology, along with improvements to 4G networks.

The vendor also forged important collaborations with customers in Africa, which are already preparing for 5G, he noted.