BT and ZTE ink telecoms research deal

BT and the Chinese telecoms kit-maker ZTE have announced a major research partnership, aimed at developing new fixed-line, wireless and mobile services.

The companies said on Wednesday that the partnership would combine ZTE's telecoms equipment and network savvy with BT's innovation and communications service delivery record.

"We've been very impressed with the knowledge and sophistication of ZTE's team and, by combining our complementary strengths and expertise on a range of research projects, we expect this partnership to be very fruitful for both ourselves and our respective customers," BT Innovate chief Clive Selley said in a statement.

Xie Daxion, ZTE's chief technology officer, said his company looked forward to a "close and effective research relationship" with BT.

The companies said they intend to "develop international telecoms standards which drive the interoperability and convergence of global communications systems", but gave no further details of the tie-in.

ZTE is currently pushing its cloud services business hard in its ongoing tussle with rival Chinese telecoms firm Huawei. Huawei already has a significant amount of business with BT, providing many of the telco's fibre home gateways.