As a strategic layout in the "15th Five-Year Plan for the Information and Communication Industry" and a vital component of the national "Six Networks", the "Next-Generation Communication Network" has become a core topic in the information and communication industry. The next-generation communication network is no longer just a simple data transmission pipeline, but a major information artery supporting the large-scale implementation of AI agents and Token businesses.
On September 22, the 2026 China International Information and Communications Exhibition (PT Exhibition) grandly opened at the China National Convention Center in Beijing. ZTE Corporation made its appearance at the exhibition under the theme "Boundless Intelligence, Prosperous Future". It set up exhibition areas including Intelligent Computing Engine, Intelligent Connection of All Things, and Intelligent Life, showcasing a series of 6G achievements, including standards, core technologies, product verification, and ecological synergy, as well as innovative solutions for 5G-A, HI-NET Intelligent Bearer Network, and 10G Optical Network, full-stack intelligent computing solutions, and a series of AI innovative terminals.
Preparing for Commercialization: Accelerating the Evolution of 6G from Standard Breakthroughs to Technical Verification
The global 6G industry is currently in a critical window for defining spectrum, determining routes, and establishing standards. Deep AI empowerment, leap in spectrum efficiency, and space-air-ground integration have become core propositions for 6G development. 6G is not merely a simple increase in speed, but a systematic reconstruction of infrastructure oriented towards embodied intelligence, computing power networks, and large-scale agent businesses.
At the standards level, ZTE Corporation is deeply involved in mainstream international and domestic standards organizations such as 3GPP, ITU, and CCSA, and has currently accumulated over 5,000 core 6G patents. The new highly efficient and fast-converging LDPC codes, led by ZTE Corporation in collaboration with multiple domestic enterprises, were officially adopted by 3GPP as the 6G data channel coding scheme under the Base Graph 3 (BG3) solution, marking another important step towards 6G evolution.
In terms of technical layout, ZTE Corporation has formed an overall "2+4" layout, which includes two strategic highlands—deep integration of 6G and AI, and satellite-terrestrial integration—as well as four key directions: spectrum efficiency, new-quality IoT, integrated sensing, communication and intelligence, and trusted security. Currently, it is revealed that ZTE Corporation has formed over 30 key technologies and more than 10 core innovation achievements in the field of 6G.
Previously, ZTE Corporation released the industry's first U6G band 256TR 6G prototype, with the multi-user peak rate breaking through 192Gbps, leading the world in the verification of key directions. In terms of the distributed GigaMIMO architecture, ZTE Corporation, in collaboration with China Mobile, adopted a "1+N" cooperation model, which improved the user experience at the cell edge by 6 times and increased the spectrum efficiency by over 30%.
In further practical verification, under the coordination of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, ZTE Corporation, together with China Telecom Shanghai, took the lead in completing the U6G key performance verification in the complex electromagnetic environment of a mega-city. Jointly with China Mobile and based on Qualcomm prototype terminals, it completed the industry's first U6G band 400MHz single-carrier GigaMIMO IoDT interoperability verification, promoting key technologies from the laboratory to the industrial ecosystem.
Space-Air Integration: Building an Omnidirectional Three-Dimensional Coverage Network
The "15th Five-Year Plan" clearly proposes accelerating the networking of low-orbit satellite Internet. The coverage boundary of the next-generation communication network is expanding from traditional terrestrial cellular networks to the omnidirectional three-dimensional space of low-altitude and outer space. Satellite Internet makes up for the coverage shortcomings in wide-area far seas and remote areas, while the low-altitude intelligent network supports the scaled development of the low-altitude economy. Together, they constitute the two major directions of the space-air integrated network.
In terms of satellite Internet, ZTE continues to extend mobile communication technologies into the field of satellite communication. It possesses end-to-end R&D capabilities for core technologies such as large-scale phased array antennas, high-capacity baseband processing, inter-satellite laser communication, and satellite-borne Tbit routing, as well as new terminals suitable for satellite connection scenarios.
Notably, ZTE Corporation, in collaboration with operators and partners, is carrying out on-orbit verification of direct-to-cell NR-NTN, continuously promoting the commercialization of industrial-grade components in satellite Internet, and facilitating the integration and sharing of the industrial chains of satellite communication and terrestrial cellular networks.
For the low-altitude economy to develop, low-altitude security must serve as the foundation. In low-altitude security, relying on the 5G-A integrated sensing, communication, computing, and intelligence technology route, ZTE has launched millimeter-wave and 4.9GHz serialized sensing and communication base stations, achieving both communication and sensing in a single network. Relying on core technologies such as large-scale networking and AI intelligent target recognition, it effectively solves industry pain points such as the difficulty of continuous coverage under the obstruction of high-rise buildings in cities and high false alarm rates. It pioneers AI-connected drone recognition, which can accurately complete the identity recognition and flight trajectory detection of 4G/5G connected drones.
Currently, ZTE Corporation's sensing and communication pilot projects have been implemented in over 160 pilot projects across 27 provinces nationwide, covering typical scenarios such as security, logistics, airports, and water areas. Some regions have already achieved scaled commercial deployment.
Network Paradigm Shift: Deep Integration of AI and Communication
In the era of AI agents, the generation, distribution, and invocation of massive Tokens pose entirely new requirements for communication networks. An industry consensus is forming: communication networks need to upgrade from pipelines transmitting bits to intelligent hubs serving Token operations. AI is no longer an add-on feature of the network, but a native capability that runs through the entire chain of wireless, core network, bearer network, and optical network.
Along with the explosion of AI computing power demand, computing access, computing interconnection, and computing aggregation have become new network business scenarios. ZTE Corporation has launched the "HI-NET Intelligent Bearer Network", embedding an AI processing engine within the network. Through hardware and software innovations such as broadband intelligent computing power boards and OTN quantum encryption, it empowers the bearer network with analysis and decision-making capabilities, covering multiple scenarios including all-optical transmission, wide area networks, and data centers.
In terms of autonomous networks, ZTE Corporation aims for fully agent-based network autonomy with AIR Net. It has now formed a three-layer intelligence injection autonomous architecture, featuring an agent cluster covering over 30 scenarios in business, services, and networks. This assists operators in achieving low-labor and unmanned network operations, empowering the industry to evolve towards high-level L4 autonomy.
As the central brain of the mobile network, the core network is at a pivotal evolutionary node: it must not only tap into incremental growth in the real commercial environment of 5G-A, but also complete architectural previews for the new business forms in the 6G era.
Facing this industrial reality, ZTE has launched a next-generation core network solution oriented towards 6G evolution. On the one hand, it focuses on traffic stimulation, experience monetization, and Token operations, assisting operators in achieving cost reduction, efficiency improvement, and commercial closed-loop in the 5G-A stage. On the other hand, it continuously promotes 6G evolution, accelerates the expansion of new service scenarios such as the integration of sensing, communication, computing, intelligence, and security, as well as space-air-ground integration, pushing the core network towards a new generation of intelligent, self-optimizing, and sustainable networks.
The 10G optical network has become a crucial part of digital infrastructure construction. Domestic 10G optical network pilots are continuously advancing, with 50G-PON serving as the mainstream technical route for next-generation 10G access.
It is reported that ZTE Corporation actively participates in 10G optical network-related pilots, with its project participation scale ranking at the forefront of the industry. Meanwhile, it has promoted 50G-PON application cooperation with over 150 operators globally. Notably, the laboratory and live network verification of the 50G-PON three-generation time-division coexistence solution, completed first in China, has also accumulated field test evidence for the subsequent large-scale deployment of this technology and the smooth transition between old and new equipment.
In terms of dedicated frequency and dedicated networks, ZTE Corporation has created a full range of 5G dedicated frequency and dedicated networks for industry scenarios such as railways, civil aviation, industry, and rail transit, providing end-to-end solutions for the digital transformation of industries.
Next-Generation Communication Network: A Systematic Collaborative Engineering Project
From the series of technologies, products, solutions, and future strategic deployments at the PT Exhibition site, it is evident that the next-generation communication network is not a single technology iteration, but a systematic engineering project involving standards, chips, equipment, terminals, applications, and business models.
ZTE Corporation continues to launch products and solutions adapted to the new era in fields such as 6G, satellite Internet, 5G-A, HI-NET Intelligent Bearer Network, 10G optical network, low-altitude intelligent network, computing network, and core network, assisting the scaled implementation of the next-generation communication network.
The achievements showcased by ZTE Corporation at this PT Exhibition are exactly the industrial practice samples submitted towards the next-generation communication network and the era of intelligent connection of all things: building a solid technological foundation with 6G, expanding network boundaries with space-air integration, reconstructing network capabilities with AI-native technologies, and driving with the dual engines of connectivity and computing power. The next-generation communication network is reshaping the underlying form of digital infrastructure, supporting a new ecosystem of massive agent symbiosis.
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Editor/Layout: Zhu Wenfeng
Proofreader: Mei Yaxin
Supervisor: Liu Qicheng