At Mobile World Congress Shanghai (MWC Shanghai) 2018, China Unicom and Huawei announced a 5G strategic partnership agreement, culminating in a signing ceremony at the Shanghai’s Kerry Center.

In a release issued by the companies, the two said “Huawei and China Unicom will fully leverage their respective innovative strengths in 5G and focus on cooperation in E2E 5G technical verification, cooperation with vertical industry partners, building of the 5G ecosystem and 5G service incubation and promotion.”

In attendance and speaking at the event were Shao Guanglu, VP of China Unicom Group, and Ryan Ding, Huawei's executive director and president of Huawei’s Carrier Business Group. Shao and Ding witnessed the signing of the agreement by Deputy Manager of China Unicom's Network Development department, Qu Baozhong, and Director of Huawei's China Unicom Account department, Gao Xiang.

China Unicom’s Shao said, "A decade ago, network evolution from 2G to 3G brought dramatic changes to the mobile Internet. The next decade will witness 4G evolution to 5G. 5G technologies will usher in a fully-connected, intelligent world, in which there will be a faster and more extensive industrial revolution. China Unicom and Huawei will continue to deepen their cooperation in the 5G domain, focusing on 5G networking and business ecosystem construction to drive 5G development and the prosperity of 5G ecosystems and create a better-connected 5G world."

Speaking about future development of the industry, Huawei’s Ding said, "5G will be the cornerstone of a fully connected, intelligent world. Integrated innovation of industry plus technology plus applications will drive the development of 5G. Huawei will continue to innovate in 5G technical solutions and applications and work with China Unicom to jointly build the 5G ecosystem alliance. We are committed to partnering with all industry players to pave the information highways of the digital era."

White paper on indoor coverage evolution to 5G

At the ceremony, Huawei and China Unicom published a white paper on 5G-oriented digital evolution of indoor coverage. The white paper analyzes opportunities and challenges facing indoor network deployment in the 5G era and explores how to scientifically build indoor 4G networks to ensure they efficiently evolve toward 5G. It outlines drivers and sets out targets and key technical elements for indoor 5G network evolution.

Huawei and China Unicom aim to drive the maturity of the indoor 5G network coverage industry.

MWC Shanghai 2018 ran from June 27 to 29 in Shanghai. Huawei showcased its products and solutions at booth B40 in Hall N3, and the Innovation City zone at booth ICA01 in Hall N5 at the Shanghai New International Expo Center.