Qualcomm and ZTE Complete 5G VoNR Call

— Following previous collaboration to achieve 5G SA and mmWave data connectivity milestones, the two parties have achieved the latest achievements in promoting the rapid evolution of 5G —

Last month, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, and ZTE Corporation jointly achieved a 5G Voice over NR (5G VoNR) call, taking a solid step towards leading the development of the 5G industry. The call was based on the 3GPP Release 15 specification and was conducted in the 2.5 GHz frequency band (n41) using a ZTE 5G NR base station and a smartphone-based 5G test device equipped with a Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 5G Modem-RF System.

Voice service is a basic service provided by mobile operators. Using 5G network to realize voice calls is called Voice over New Radio (VoNR). Realizing VoNR calls is an important step in the evolution of the global mobile communications industry from non-standalone networking (NSA) to standalone networking (SA). VoNR can support operators to provide high-quality voice services without relying on LTE voice (VoLTE) or LTE anchor points.

Qualcomm Technologies and ZTE have achieved a series of milestones in their ongoing collaboration to advance the evolution of 5G, and this 5G VoNR call is the latest achievement of the two companies’ collaboration. In November 2017, the two companies collaborated to achieve the world’s first end-to-end 5G New Radio Interoperability (IoDT) based on 3GPP Release 15 specifications in China. In February 2019, the two companies completed a joint demonstration of 5G network services based on an end-to-end commercial system in the sub-6GHz frequency band in China. In October 2019, the two companies completed China’s first smartphone-based 5G mmWave interoperability test.

“This collaboration with ZTE will further support Qualcomm’s goal of unleashing the potential of 5G to enable the intelligent connection of everything,” said Dejia Ma, senior vice president and general manager of 4G/5G business at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Qualcomm Technologies is committed to continuing to promote the development of 5G to support global innovation and economic growth.”

“Qualcomm Technologies, as a long-term partner of ZTE, has been actively promoting relevant technology verification and commercialization with us in the development of 5G. ZTE has always maintained an industry-leading position in 5G SA network solutions,” said Bai Yanmin, general manager of ZTE RAN products. “The successful 5G VoNR call between the two parties is an important step towards the commercialization of seamless 5G native voice experience, which will strongly support the construction of 5G SA networks and provide 5G technology to more service providers, enterprise users and consumers.”