ZTE says it has opened an LTE laboratory in Richardson, Texas, that will demonstrate and test its dual-mode CDMA/LTE platform for U.S. carriers.
The company says that it can demonstrate an FTP downloading rate up to 52 Mbps at 10 MHz bandwidth and conduct CDMA voice service and LTE HD (High Definition) video demonstrations simultaneously.
Currently, Verizon Wireless is the main nationwide U.S. CDMA carrier moving to LTE. Executives at Clearwire, which provides 4G service for CDMA operator Sprint, have acknowledged they could adopt LTE in the long term if it ends up being in the best interest of the company. GSM-based AT&T also is moving to LTE.
ZTE's press release doesn't mention WiMAX, but the company says it has the capability to customize its platform for other bands according to the requirements of the carriers – in particular, ZTE can create a multi-mode GSM/UMTS/LTE platform.
ZTE's lab is equipped to test several features including throughput, latency, coverage, velocity vs. date rate, traffic quality, mobility management and OMM/SON.
ZTE has made no secret of its commitment to LTE, with ZTE executive Xu Ming offering suggestions in an August IMHO column on how CDMA carriers can get ready for LTE.