At MWC Barcelona 2025, ZTE won the « GSMA Foundry Innovation Award » at the GLOMO Awards 2025 for its Minimalist Private 5G-A solution.

The award demonstrates ZTE’s technological leadership and outstanding contribution to the digital transformation of the cultural and entertainment industry, and further indicates its unlimited potential in future live broadcast transformation.

The annual GLOMO Awards represents the industry’s most prestigious accolade. With a judge panel comprising over 260 global analysts, media professionals, and industry experts this year, the GLOMO Awards 2025 celebrates individuals and companies that drive innovation and showcase excellence in the rapidly growing mobile industry. The minimalist private 5G-A solution integrates 5G-A micro base station, namely MiCell, with NodeEngine – a base station computing engine, enabling efficient and reliable deployment of private networks, injecting new momentum into entertainment services, and successfully earning this prestigious recognition. For instance, in large-scale VR experience scenarios, users no longer need to carry heavy equipment to enjoy stable, real-time VR rendering. In the media broadcasting industry, photographers can completely free themselves from cable constraints, flexibly capturing live footage.

MWC Barcelona 2025: Creating a 5G-A Wireless Broadcasting Milestone

During MWC 2025, ZTE collaborated with GSMA’s official media platform Mobile World Live (MWL) to achieve the first 5G-A-powered expo live broadcast. In this partnership, ZTE deployed the minimalist 5G-A private network architecture, providing high-performance signal coverage through indoor MiCell micro stations, and ensuring footage continuity during camera movement using their exclusive 5G-A SuperMIMO technology.

On-site test revealed an average wireless air interface latency of just 4ms, with end-to-end service latency (including encoding and decoding) under 100ms, delivering picture quality indistinguishable from wired solutions. The MWL directing team exclaimed: « Photographers can freely move around to capture footage, making viewers feel as if they’re actually there – this is a revolution in broadcasting technology! » Additionally, the NodeEngine enabled « one-hop » from the shooting site to the broadcast center, eliminating the necessity of public network transmission and effectively enhancing both transmission efficiency and security. This broadcast not only validated 5G-A’s high reliability but also showcased the unlimited possibilities of wireless broadcasting to the world.

5G-A Minimalist Private Network: Technical Architecture and Wireless Evolution Path

The core of ZTE’s 5G-A solution lies in using « simplification » to solve complexity. Traditional private network deployments require independent core networks and complex wiring, while ZTE’s solution reuses existing 5G base station infrastructure, deeply integrating millimeter wave, edge computing, and cloud computing technologies to achieve lightweight deployment with « 0 additional core network. »

This architecture reduces deployment costs by 40% while supporting uplink speeds of up to 2Gbps per camera and maintaining stable end-to-end latency at the 100ms level, perfectly accommodating 4K/8K ultra-high-definition broadcasting requirements. For example, during the 2025 CCTV Spring Festival Gala broadcast, the 5G-A distributed MiCell and NodeEngine deployed throughout the studio worked collaboratively, enabling « one-hop » data transmission to the broadcast center with an average air interface latency of just 4ms. This completely eliminated the challenges of switching between wired and wireless systems, successfully achieving the first-ever 4K wireless broadcast on television screens in the Gala’s 43-year history.

Certainly, the success of this technology is inseparable from ZTE’s continuous investment in R&D. In 2024, its R&D expenses reached 24.03 billion yuan, accounting for 20% of revenue. This high-intensity innovation investment has provided solid support for the commercial implementation of 5G-A technology.

Furthermore, the core of ZTE’s 5G-A Minimalist Private Network solution lies in « simplification » and « efficiency. » Its characteristics can be summarized in three points:

1. Minimalist architecture: Multi-scenario 5G-A devices can be selected as needed to quickly achieve high-quality network coverage; NodeEngine offers plug-and-play functionality, significantly reducing private network deployment costs and time frames.
2. Outstanding performance: Supports uplink speeds of up to 2Gbps per camera with end-to-end latency at the hundred-millisecond level, fully meeting 4K/8K ultra-high-definition broadcasting and switching requirements.
3. Security and reliability: Data is locally offloaded without public network transmission, and the dedicated network mode has gained high recognition in the broadcasting industry.

Throughout the evolution from traditional wired to wireless broadcasting, ZTE has consistently been a leader. From the first vertical screen wireless broadcast experiment at the 2024 CCTV Spring Festival Gala, to achieving television 4K wireless broadcasting in 2025, to the commercial implementation of multi-camera at the Malaysia National Games, each step marks the broadcasting industry’s journey from « fixed » to « free. »

5G-A Broadcasting Technology in Depth: The Synergistic Evolution of Light Compression Codec and Computing Engine

The innovative highlight of ZTE’s 5G-A broadcasting technology lies in the synergy between « shallow compression codec » and « base station-level computing engine. » If the minimalist architecture is the skeleton of 5G-A, then the « shallow compression codec » and « computing engine » are its nerves and blood vessels. Shallow compression technology preserves original image quality with a 1:10 compression ratio, increasing single-camera bit-rate to 880Mbps at 4K resolution, while the computing engine enables real-time data processing through edge computing. The combination significantly reduces transmission pressure, lowering bandwidth requirements by 80% compared to traditional wireless solutions without compromising image details.

In this process, the base station-level computing engine plays an indispensable role. The NodeEngine achieves data offloading through edge computing, compressing encoding/decoding and transmission latency to the hundred-millisecond level. During the Hangzhou Asian Games, this technology combined with 1.6GHz ultra-wide bandwidth equipment allowed one single base station to support dozens of 8K live broadcasts with a downlink peak rate of 25Gbps, providing foundational support for XR immersive viewing and multi-angle switching. The « integrated computing-network nomadic base station » jointly launched by ZTE and China Telecom can be rapidly deployed in temporary venues to meet the sudden demands of large events. Technical officials from the Asian Games Organizing Committee described it as « redefining the flexibility of smart venues. »

From the Spring Festival Gala to the International Arena: the Global Practice of 5G-A Wireless Live Broadcast

The success of the technology has effectively promoted the expansion of the market, and domestic successful cases have laid the foundation for the technology to go overseas. In 2024, the vertical screen live broadcast of the Spring Festival Gala jointly organized by ZTE and CCTV won the double first prize of the « Blooming Cup » Competition hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the judges evaluated it as « the perfect balance of picture quality and efficiency ».

In 2025, CCTV Spring Festival Gala used 5G-A wireless camera for the first time for large-screen 4K TV live broadcast, marking the biggest technological breakthrough in 43 years. The 5G-A minimalist private network deployed by ZTE covers the entire venue through MiCells, 5G-A Super MIMO technology ensures zero switching of camera movement, and AI beam tracking achieves accurate signal guarantee.

In terms of technical details, 4K shallow compression codec enables a single camera bit rate of 880Mbps and an air interface delay of only 4ms. The technical director of the station revealed: « The wireless camera and the wired camera work together seamlessly, and the audience can’t even tell which images are from wireless shooting. » In addition, the three 4K wireless cameras deployed in the corridor outside the studio provide multi-angle interviews and live broadcasts for many media.

On the international stage, the 2024 Malaysia National Games (SUKMA) is a key event. ZTE, in conjunction with CelcomDigi and U Mobile, has achieved the first wireless live broadcast of national-level events, with seamless multi-camera images. RTM (Radio Televisyen Malaysia) commented: « This is a milestone in the history of sports broadcasting. »

At the opening ceremony, the photographer walked around the stadium with a 5G-A backpack, and the 6-hour live broadcast was always smooth. Ahmad, technical director of the RTM, said: « The wireless camera allows us to capture perspectives that were previously impossible, such as close-ups of athletes’ sprinting feet and enthusiastic reactions from the audience. » During the event, ZTE’s solution also supported low-altitude drone aerial photography and multi-camera follow-up shooting of water events, presenting an « immersive viewing feast » for the audience.

During the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, ZTE and China Telecom cooperated to build the world’s largest 1.6GHz bandwidth 5G-A network. A single base station supports dozens of 8K live broadcasts, with a downlink peak rate of 25Gbps. In the venue, the dynamic collaborative Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS) optimizes signal coverage, and XR services support immersive viewing for thousands of people.

It is worth mentioning that the « integrated computing-network nomadic base station » launched by ZTE can be quickly deployed in temporary venues to meet the sudden needs of large-scale events such as the opening ceremony. The technical official of the Asian Games Organizing Committee commented: « 5G-A not only improves the quality of live broadcasts, but also promotes the comprehensive upgrade of smart venues. « 

Unlimited Possibilities: from Stages to the Future of Thousands of Industries

The mature commercial use of ZTE’s 5G-A live broadcast technology has brought far-reaching impacts to industries such as entertainment, sports, education, and tourism. At the same time, we have noticed that the value of 5G-A technology is far more than the stage and the stadium.

The technology also extends to low-altitude economy, Internet of Vehicles, telemedicine and other fields. In the field of low-altitude economy, the tele-sensing integrated base station jointly developed by ZTE and Nanjing Telecom has realized the real-time return and precise positioning of drone aerial images; in the Internet of Vehicles scenario, the « 5G-A vehicle-ground system » of Shanghai Metro Line 4 has a carriage return rate of 15Gbps, laying the foundation for smart transportation. Even education, tourism, medical care and other fields have ushered in innovation due to the ubiquitous connection and ultra-low latency of 5G-A – museum visitors can immerse themselves in exhibitions through AR glasses, and doctors performing remote operations can get nearly real-time operation feedback.

From the podium in Barcelona to the stadium in Kuala Lumpur, from the studio in Beijing to the smart venue in Hangzhou, ZTE’s 5G-A minimalist private network and live broadcast technology continue to break boundaries and reshape the global live broadcast ecosystem with the « Innovative wireless solution ».