-Free digital packages for SMEs
-24/7 services and securing of network functions
-Knowledge transfer and learning from Corona measures in China

Vienna, 23.03.2020 – The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our working life and our daily routines in a dramatic way. It is now even more important to be reachable anytime and anywhere, to work at home and to be able to exchange information with friends, colleagues and customers via phone and video. As a leading international provider of telecommunication solutions, ZTE has been bringing state-of-the-art communications to Austria and the CEE region for 11 years now and has played a key role in the quality and modernity of the existing digital infrastructure, which is even more important in this crisis situation. 

Free digital packages for SMEs
In these challenging times, cohesion between larger and smaller companies is essential. In this role, ZTE takes its responsibility seriously and has put together an attractive digital package for SMEs together with Drei Austria as part of the initiative "Digital Team Austria" by Federal Minister Margarete Schramböck in cooperation with Internetoffensive Austria. This involves the provision of 1,000 free communication packages for SMEs, each worth 120 Euro. These include a free mobile router from ZTE Austria and three months' free Internet access from Drei Austria. The aim is to enable companies to switch over quickly and continue their operations digitally from home-office. Further information on Digital Team Austria and the digital package for SMEs from ZTE Austria and Drei Austria can be found at http://www.oesterreich.gv.at/kmu/internetzugang.html and www.drei.at/digitale-allianz.

24/7 services and securing network functions
At the ZTE headquarter for Austria and Eastern Europe in Vienna, all available resources are currently on standby to support the network operators and guarantee 24/7 availability and immediate intervention in case of problems. With the enormous increase in voice and data traffic, ensuring the best possible network quality has top priority for the more than 100 employees in the region.

Knowledge transfer and learning from Corona measures in China
The COVID-19 crisis has confronted the world with new challenges and at the same time proved what an important contribution digitisation can make in difficult times. ZTE Corporation, headquartered in Shenzhen, China, had to migrate more than 60,000 employees to home offices within a few days, while at the same time coping with the huge increase in data traffic from Chinese network operators. This exceptional situation could only be mastered without major problems through cloud-based working and the availability of sufficient capacity in the networks.

In China, the possibility of digital remote diagnostics has made an important contribution to overcoming the corona crisis. Based on the latest 5G infrastructure technology, ZTE developed together with China Telecom a real-time diagnosis and treatment platform for pneumonia caused by the corona virus. In a first step, the West China Hospital, the Sichuan Health Department and the Chengdu Public Health Clinic were connected. Work is currently ongoing to expand the system to more than 200 hospitals in 82 cities based on 4G and 5G technolgogy, which will make the expertise of the doctors from Wuhan, for example, available to many other patients.

Christian Woschitz, CEO ZTE Austria:
"The entire ZTE team has my utmost respect for the tireless efforts that are currently being made every day to maintain the network quality at the highest level together with our customers. Through the advanced implementation of cloud-based workflows within ZTE, we have managed to switch to home office in a very short time without loss of efficiency. This crisis clearly shows how essential a functioning telecom infrastructure is and how it can also be useful in the healthcare sector for remote diagnosis. It is therefore extremely important to achieve the fastest possible nationwide 5G network coverage in Austria".

About ZTE Austria
Vienna as a hub for Eastern Europe: The Chinese technology group ZTE Corporation, a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, has been serving more than 20 mobile network operators in the region from its Austrian location since 2009 - and the trend is rising. Its largest customers include domestic telecommunications companies such as Telekom Austria, Magenta Telekom and Hutchison Drei Austria. Austria is one of the most important locations of the ZTE Corporation and at the same time acts as a local hub for Eastern Europe.