In phone call, ZTE dials up 5G success

Chinese telecom company ZTE Group announced on Monday that it has succeeded in making the first phone call enabled by 5G technologies as Chinese smartphone makers scramble to work on 5G in hopes of applying this next-generation mobile communication technology to their products as soon as possible.

The move comes as China evolves from being a follower into a pioneer in the global telecom arena, experts said. The country is expected to commercialize 5G by 2020 and become the world's largest 5G market by 2025.

"The success moves China a step forward in developing 5G technologies, which will accelerate its speed in commercializing 5G," said Xiang Ligang, a telecom expert and chief executive of telecom industry website Cctime, adding that the call was one of the world's first using 5G technology.