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China Telecom Shanghai Research Institute Joins the Zigbee Alliance

January 30, 2018 by Paul Shepard

After closing 2017 with a record number of product and platform certifications, the Zigbee Alliance is proud to start 2018 by welcoming new members who share the goal of setting the foundation and future for the Internet of Things (IoT). One of these, the China Telecom Shanghai Research Institute, is the world’s largest broadband network provider in the world’s largest consumer market, and has joined as a Participant Member to drive interoperability and simplicity for developers in the smart home industry.

In July 2014, to implement its “Broadband China” strategy, China Telecom, together with a number of leading application/content/service providers and product manufacturers, initiated the “China Intelligent Family Industry Alliance” (CIFIA) which focuses on developing smart home products and applications to promote the innovation and development of the smart home industry.

In the past three years, CIFIA’s membership has reached 176 companies, including Hisense, Haier, Qualcomm, Huawei, JD, Xiaomi, Suning, and Gome. China Telecom will facilitate cooperation between CIFIA members and the Zigbee Alliance with the goal of creating open, standardized smart home solutions using Zigbee technologies.

“The Research Institute has shifted its research and development efforts toward product development with a dedicated focus on customer relations and efficiency,” said Mingjie Zhang, Vice President of China Telecom Shanghai Research Institute, “The Zigbee Alliance shares similar principles, creating market-focused IoT Standards. We are pleased to join the Alliance and expand the use of Zigbee technologies throughout China.”

Likewise, Zigbee Alliance leaders anticipate a dynamic relationship with their newest Participant member.

“We are pleased to add China Telecom Shanghai Research Institute to our industry-leading membership,” said Tobin Richardson, President and CEO of Zigbee Alliance. “China Telecom’s connection to over 144 million households guarantees an unparalleled advantage in the smart home market. We look forward to the active involvement of the Research Institute and CIFIA in the development of our open IoT standards, and increasing the number of ecosystems Zigbee Certified products can work with.”

China Telecommunications Corporation (“China Telecom”) ranks 133rd in the 2016 Fortune Global 500, and operates the world’s largest broadband Internet network. By the end of 2016, the number of its broadband Internet subscribers exceeded 144 million. China Telecom recently launched an initiative to establish a digital ecosystem by focusing on five new business sections: smart connection, smart home, internet financing, IoT, and new information and communications technologies (ICT).

As an important part of China Telecom’s R&D and innovation system, China Telecom Shanghai Research Institute boasts a strong professional technical team, award-winning R&D results, and a well-equipped research infrastructure that includes a number of China Telecom’s Key Laboratory facilities, such as the Smart Home Open Laboratory, the Next Generation Network (NGN) laboratory, the smart network service development platform, the broadband network laboratory, and others.