ZTE has developed 5G core system chips of 7nm and 10nm with independent intellectual property rights

Recently, Miao Wei, the Minister of Industry and Information Technology, visited ZTE booth. Recently, ZTE indicated that it had developed 5G core system chips with 7nm and 10nm processes for 5G terminals...

In the first half of this year, ZTE was sanctioned by the US Department of Commerce. Because its core technology was enslaved to US companies, and it was banned from using US companies' chips and operating systems. ZTE’s business was suspended, with a net loss of 7.8 billion RMB yuan in the first half of the year.

In the following statement, ZTE said that it would increase investment in chip research and development. Recently, Miao Wei, the Minister of Industry and Information Technology, visited ZTE booth. ZTE indicated that it had developed 5G core system chips with 7nm and 10nm processes for 5G terminals.

The People's Post and Telecommunications reported recently that the Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Miao Wei, visited the China International Information and Communication Exhibition. Minister Miao went to the exhibition areas of China Mobile, China Unicom, China Tower, Huawei, Putian, ZTE, etc. In the introduction of ZTE's exhibition area, it is mentioned, "In the ZTE exhibition area, Miao Wei was particularly concerned about the R&D progress of 5G terminals. After being informed of that ZTE had developed 5G core system chips of 7nm and 10nm with independent intellectual property rights, his face showed approval ".

It is reported that ZTE booth is divided into two exhibition areas: system and terminal. In the system exhibition area, ZTE comprehensively demonstrated the results of years of hard work in 5G field from the aspects of “5G Commercial Practice”, “5G Technology Innovation” and “5G Business Development”. Different from previous years, ZTE specially set up an "Image Exhibition Area" this year. With a chip wall, more than 100 communication-specific chips that ZTE has independently developed to date were displayed, including the industry-leading wireless baseband and high-end switch chips.

According to the report, ZTE has developed 5G core system chips of 10nm and 7nm processes for 5G terminals. This means that ZTE may use its own R&D chips on 5G mobile phones in the future, no longer entirely rely on external suppliers.

It is not clear what ZTE's 5G system chip exactly is. If it is used for the terminal equipment, it may be a mobile phone processor or a mobile phone baseband. Considering that, in 2014, ZTE announced the ZX297510 LTE multimode chip platform, one of the few 28nm basebands that were rare in the past, had passed the test from the quality assurance department of China Mobile Terminal Company. Therefore, ZTE's 5G core chip is more likely to be a 5G baseband processor. Its mobile phone processor has rarely been publicly reported.

After the lifting of sanctions, ZTE Corporation held a general meeting of shareholders. Xu Ziyang, the new CEO of ZTE, said that ZTE Microelectronics would increase the investment in chip research and development, and focus on the coordination with the research and development of ZTE’s main device chips, such as baseband chips, 5G transmission switch chips, IP chips, etc. These chips are the key parts of the core competitiveness.

ZTE Microelectronics is the third largest chip design company after Huawei HiSilicon and UNISOC. However, the revenue of 7.5 billion RMB yuan from 2017 is quite different from that of HiSilicon’s 38.7 billion and UNISOC's 11 billion RMB yuan.