Page 43 - SAMENA Trends - August-September 2025

REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

SACOFA Partners with ZTE to Modernize SACOFA's Statewide Network in
SARAWAK

ZTE Corporation, a global leading provider of integrated information from a 6-in-1 EDN (Enhanced Deterministic Networking) processor,
and communication technology solutions, and SACOFA, Sarawak's supporting high-speed forwarding with guaranteed low latency and
leading telecommunications infrastructure provider, have formed jitter-resilient performance for real-time applications. Together,
a strategic partnership to modernize SACOFA's infrastructure these advancements bolster scalable bandwidth delivery, elevate
network, setting the stage for Sarawak's next era of digital growth. service-level performance, and optimize operational efficiency.
This network modernization delivers scalable and ultra-broadband This initiative marks a significant milestone for Sarawak's
capacity by leveraging full-band Optical Transport Network (OTN) connectivity. SACOFA is upgrading the core transport, routing, and
technologies capable of 1.6 Terabyte throughput, augmented with optical layers with ZTE's advanced solutions. These enhancements
intelligent, AI-driven network control for superior reliability and provide a resilient foundation for long-term network availability
spectrum efficiency. On the core transport network, it benefits and performance. Dato Sri Sulaiman Abdul Rahman B Abdul Taib,
Managing Director of SACOFA, stated: "SACOFA's partnership with
ZTE will bring us closer to the state government's vision of Post-
COVID-19 Development Sarawak 2030 and the Sarawak Digital
Blueprint 2030. By modernizing the network infrastructure, SACOFA
is positioned to transform increased capacity and reliability into
economic growth and enhanced operational readiness. This
progress supports Sarawak's long-term digital and infrastructure
goals. SACOFA marks a pivotal point in its digital transformation
journey." Steven Ge, Managing Director of ZTE Malaysia, said:
"This partnership combines SACOFA's strong local infrastructure
expertise with ZTE's global innovation in core and optical transport
technologies. Through this collaboration, we are delivering a
future-proof digital backbone that enables 5G, cloud, and AI-driven
services, supporting Sarawak's 2030 vision for a dynamic, inclusive
digital economy."

Zong and ZTE Launch Industry's First 8x120W Ultra-Broadband Radio and
Digital Intelligent Antenna Solution

ZTE Corporation a global leading provider of integrated information 4T4R cell and two 2T2R cells per site, particularly in scenarios where
and communication technology solutions, and Zong, Pakistan's space and power are constrained. Results from Zong's commercial
No.1 data network, have announced the commercial launch of the launch revealed significant performance enhancements, including
industry's first high-power 8T8R Ultra-Broadband Radio (HP 8T8R a capacity increase of 34% in daily and 83% in busy hour, a user
UBR) and Digital Intelligent Antenna (DIA) solution. This pioneering experience improvement of 173% in daily and 115% in busy hour.
deployment marks a significant milestone for both companies. Beyond improved performance, it simplifies deployment and has
ZTE's HP 8T8R UBR solution delivers the industry's highest power proven to be a reliable and efficient alternative to traditional multi-
(8x120W) for FDD dual band (1800MHz and 2100MHz), which are radio setups.
the key bands of Zong network. It is also the first such solution to be Zong has expressed strong interest in scaling these solutions across
commercially launched worldwide. This breakthrough in RRU high its network, citing clear operational benefits, cost savings, and
integration design enables a single unit to replace multiple legacy improved service quality. This milestone underscores the shared
RRUs, saving up to 67% of RRUs for towers. This consolidation commitment of Zong and ZTE to driving technological innovation
dramatically reduces the complexity of deployments, minimizes and delivering next-generation network experiences. Through
antenna space requirements, and lowers the overall equipment close collaboration, both companies are not only accelerating the
footprint. Coupled with ZTE's DIA antenna solution, the system evolution of Pakistan's digital infrastructure but also setting a new
supports the beamforming function by software definition which benchmark for efficient, high-performance mobile networks across
enables two 4T4R cells for current network or one 8T8R cell for the emerging markets. As the partnership deepens, Zong and ZTE will
next-generation network. The two companies are also exploring continue to explore cutting-edge solutions that empower users
cost-efficient deployment strategies. For the scenario defined for and enable sustainable growth.
newly rolled-out sites, they are used as "422" site which means one

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