Interview with Mr Peng Aiguang, Senior Vice President of ZTE

Mr Peng Aiguang, Senior Vice President of ZTE, was interviewed by the media to discuss the development trend of ICT technology in Europe and America. He also introduced the highlight of technological solutions that ZTE will showcase at the MWC 2023 event in Barcelona.

Question 1:

Hello, Mr. Peng, nice to meet you at Mobile World Congress. Would you please tell us what is your theme this time and what is new for ZTE to present?

Answer:

Nice to meet you. This year our theme is “Shaping Digital Innovation”. The digital transformation is now thriving in every aspect of the society. It is happening to Business, to Consumers and to Homes.

As you will find our booth has four sections:

Ultra-Efficient Network, which presents End-to-End solutions to enable ultimate, highly-efficient network construction in all scenarios for operators. Every year we will bring cutting-edge equipment to make the networking simpler, powerful and have a good preparation for the future. You will find UniSite in radio access, 10G PON and 50G PON in fixed access, most powerful 400G equipment in transmission and the new Core Network will a strong turbo.

We are confident to build a most powerful digital platform. And based on this platform, we are now building on-stop digital expansion. The integrated network and service will enable operators to explore the new blue ocean of B2B and B2H business.

The third story is Boundless Future, which predicts forward-looking innovations to break the boundaries of coverage, capacity, and services, and create a boundless future. Again, in every part of the End-to-End network, our vision for the future is presented.

The fourth section is Smart Life, which demos how to continuously improve the 1+2+N ecosystem with smart phones as the core. It is in open area, everyone is welcome to enjoy a personal experience.

Question 2:

I remembered that last year ZTE’s slogan is “Inspire the Digital World”. With the word “Inspire”, I think ZTE want to make something happen. Why do you use the word  “Shaping” this time? How will ZTE guarantee the power of Shaping the innovations that will change both business and individuals’ life?

Answer: 

We define ourselves as “a driver of the digital economy”. As a leading vendor in all types of ICT equipment and relevant services,  such as radio, wireline, energy, IT products, we take it as our ambition and even responsibility to shape what kind of innovation is actually needed to break the bottlenecks.

We have the confidence in our power, because we always invest heavily in R&D and talented young men, which is one of our cornerstones of success, together with Compliance and Internal Control.

In the first three quarters of 2022, to research and develop the key technology and guarantee product competitiveness, we have invested RMB 16.11 billion in R&D, that is 17.4% of 9-month operating revenue.  Up to June 2022,  we have filed over 85,000 patents worldwide and accumulated 43,000 patents worldwide.

The annual data will be released in this March, I think the R&D investment will still very heavy.

Question 3:

Oh, that is really a big sum of money. So how is the effect of the investment so far? As we know, recent years are not good for business due to the impact of Covid. You are in charge of European and  Americas, what is your vision on this market?

Answer: 

Most developed countries are within this region, so without doubt we need to meet the highest standard to survive and win.

On radio business, we are continuing to work with operators to upgrade their networks and accelerate 5G deployment. We have built the ultimate commercial 5G networks for many operators such as Hutchison Austria, Orange Spain, Wind Tre (Italy). The Austria’s network, for instance, has been the fastest 5G mobile network for nearly two years.

On wireline business, we are the No.1 of IP STB Global Shipments. And we have been the champion of Android TV STB Activation and Active Growth since 2021.

At the same time, we are positively developing use cases, such as smart port, smart manufacture, machine vision, AGV, etc. We have already achieved key milestones.

We emphasize combining business and sustainability, for a development that is not only profitable, but also attentive to the needs of society and environment. As you can find a green island in the center of our booth, it means all our product and solution keep this in the central mind.

And transparency and cybersecurity are also our most important concern. We have established cybersecurity centers in Germany and Italy. Besides meeting the security regulation of local government, we have much stricter requirements for both hardware and software.

ZTE intends not only to be a leader in the development of technological solutions in the telecommunications sector but also aims to become a protagonist in a rapidly changing world. A transparent protagonist that devotes to serving peoples and nations with our expertise for a better tomorrow for all.