CSL and ZTE announces details of the first phase of commercial LTE trial in Hong Kong on CSL’s NextG™ network

Barcelona, 16 February 2010 – CSL Limited, Hong Kong’s leading mobile network operator, its parent company Telstra Corporation, and ZTE Corporation, a leading global provider of telecommunications technology and network solutions, unveiled the milestones achieved since the launch of NextG™, Hong Kong’s leading mobile network.

In March 2009, CSL unveiled the commercial launch of Next G, the award-winning All-IP mobile broadband network. NextG™ was the world’s first Software Defined Radio (SDR)-based HSPA+ All-IP network. With peak download speeds up to 21 Mbps and offering the widest coverage in Hong Kong the network provides unrivalled mobility and performance.

NextG’s™SDR capability enables CSL to rapidly evolve from 3G to LTE through a software upgrade. This combined with CSL’s LTE spectrum (awarded by auction in 2009) means that CSL has set out a smooth and readily accessible path to LTE.

In September 2009, CSL, Telstra and ZTE announced the commencement of a Long Term Evolution (LTE) commercial trial network and demonstrated speeds up to 127Mbps utilising this technology, a first for Asia and one of the first in the world.

Today, CSL, Telstra and ZTE announced the progress of the LTE trial which has seen 20 active and fully operational LTE cell sites rolled out in Hong Kong.  These sites are currently being trialed as CSL, Telstra and ZTE examine the capabilities and characteristics of the next generation of mobile technologies.

CSL’s CTO, Mr. Christian Daigneault said “A unique aspect of this trial is that it has moved out of the laboratory and ‘into the streets’.  We are now testing the cell sites with a ‘consumer ready’ LTE USB modem and field trials of this are presently being conducted throughout our LTE network.  We are very pleased with the results of these trials and the USB modem is performing extremely well showing peak download speeds upwards of 100Mbps on the streets of Hong Kong.  This means that maybe we have to revisit the time in which LTE will be commercially available and rolled out in networks across the world.”

The evolution of the LTE network in Hong Kong has been a hot topic in the industry over the last year as CSL and ZTE pioneer new wireless uses for consumers and enterprises in the city and position themselves at the forefront of the global mobile telecommunications industry.

Tarek Robbiati, Group Managing Director of Telstra International and Chief Executive Officer of CSL, also pointed out the stark changes in usage patterns since the launch of NextG™. Mr. Robbiati said “Data traffic has increased by 20 times over that of the legacy 3G network and has now eclipsed voice traffic within our network. With the constant evolution of the network to higher speeds toward LTE and the proliferation of Smartphones and other devices, CSL expects  the exponential growth in data traffic in Hong Kong to continue for many years. CSL will continue the investment in LTE technology to build one of the world’s most advanced networks in Hong Kong.  This will deliver on our promise to our customers of a true mobile broadband service that helps them to live their lives in the way that they want; in Hong Kong that means on the move and always connected.”

CSL’s Chief Marketing Officer, Aenil Premji said “This world-class infrastructure enables advanced corporate applications that maximise efficiency and productivity and for consumers, an enhanced mobile multimedia experience with unparalleled usability and functionality.”

Whilst CSL has focused on LTE trials, it has not neglected its HSPA+ network as it expects to continue using that network to service Hong Kong for many years to come.  Also in September 2009, CSL announced the roll out of UMTS HSPA+ in the 900 MHz band, the first instance of spectrum re-farming seen in Hong Kong. Mr. Robbiati said “Deployment of mobile services using UMTS in the 900 spectrum range is designed to increase outdoor coverage and in-building penetration rates; something that is vitally important in the high density urban environment of Hong Kong; we are exploiting this unique advantage with the recent launch of our NextG™ Home Broadband Service.”
 
ZTE is very proud to see that the strategic cooperation with Telstra and CSL has created the leading mobile network not only in Hong Kong but also one of the world’s most advanced networks. The milestones of network evolution from peak download speeds up to 21Mbps, SDR-based all IP HSPA+ to the first spectrum re-farming in 900MHz band, to one cell site 127Mbps LTE and now to 20 cell sites in the LTE trial network with a LTE USB modem reaching 100Mbps shows our commitment to Telstra and CSL to overcome the challenges in one of the most competitive telecom environment in the world through our persistent technical innovation and outstanding engineering capabilities.” said Hou Weigui, Chairman of ZTE Corporation.

Mr Premji also said “Customers are demanding more and more mobile data broadband services, handsets and applications. CSL, are leaders in Hong Kong because we are the leader in customer focus. We listen to our customers to ascertain what is relevant to them and then we meet their needs and demands with appropriate technological solutions.”