ZTE wins Cosmote Romania LTE contract

ZTE Corporation ("ZTE") (H share stock code: 0763.HK / A share stock code: 000063.SZ), a publicly-listed global provider of telecommunications equipment, network solutions and mobile devices, has won a wireless project contract from Cosmote Romania, the largest multinational mobile operator in the Balkans, to transform its existing 2G/3G network and build a new LTE network in southern Romania.

The deal is expected to require construction of more than 3 000 base stations, reinforcing ZTE's leading place in the European LTE market.

Based in Greece, Cosmote Group has its major operations in south-eastern European countries, including Greece, Albania and Romania. Deutsche Telekom is the largest of its shareholders, holding 40% of shares in Greece's OTE Group. In 2012, Cosmote Romania won the auction for the 25M 1800M and 10M 2600M LTE spectrums and planned to launch LTE services in the hope of better customer experience and competitiveness.

In 2010, ZTE successfully completed a UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) project for Cosmote Romania using ZTE's industry-leading SDR (software defined radio) technologies and network delivery capabilities. The previous co-operation on UMTS networks has laid a solid foundation for further work on LTE projects between Cosmote and ZTE.

Xiong Hui, SVP of ZTE, said: "ZTE is very grateful that Cosmote Romania once again selected us as a strategic partner. With our series of innovative solutions, led by Cloud Radio, ZTE is taking the lead in the development of LTE technologies. The LTE network of Cosmote Romania will use the world's most advanced products and solutions to enhance the customer experience. We will employ ZTE's best resources to make the project a successful one."

As of the end of July 2014, ZTE has won 146 commercial LTE/EPC contracts around the world, covering 70% of the countries that have invested in LTE. ZTE is the world's fastest growing LTE vendor and in 2013, the company's share of the new LTE market was close to 20%. ZTE has successfully launched LTE networks for operators including China Mobile, China Telecom, Hutchison, Softbank, KPN, Telenor, TeliaSonera, Vodafone, VimpelCom and Bharti.