In an extraordinary series of announcements, the giant Chinese equipment maker ZTE has highlighted the potential role of telecommunications in disease management – and specifically management of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in China.
ZTE has assisted China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom and China Tower in the deployment of telecommunications networks, including 5G networks, in Dabie Mountain Medical Centre in Huanggang, to cope with the outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan.
ZTE helped operators to commission wireless macro-station equipment, wireless indoor coverage equipment, and IPTV networks, to meet the needs of medical staff for communication, video transmission and radio and TV broadcasting.
It's been a similar story for network construction in Lei Shen Shan Hospital in Wuhan, where ZTE has developed a network construction solution and arranged for technical personnel to carry out network expansion and construction on site. The hospital will meet the communication and video transmission requirements of tens of thousands of people once the network is completed.
The role of 5G was underlined after ZTE Corporation and the Sichuan Branch of China Telecom claimed to have made China's first 5G remote diagnosis of new coronavirus pneumonia a reality, this time at West China Hospital and Chengdu Public Health Clinic Centre of Sichuan University.
ZTE employed its CPE equipment to commission 5G services by means of outdoor 5G signals while constructing indoor coverage points. After the 5G network was commissioned, a remote video consultation took place; it could be the first of many. ZTE now plans to build China’s first new 5G system for remote diagnosis of coronavirus infection, potentially allowing critical patients across Wuhan to take advantage of expert diagnosis and treatment services in the West China Hospital.