The trials are aimed at validating the performance of Samsung’s 4G and 5G network solutions in Virgin Media O2’s commercial network
Samsung will offer its advanced solutions for the trials. (Credit: Maxwell Fury from Pixabay)
Samsung Electronics has partnered with Virgin Media O2, one of the largest mobile networks in the UK, to conduct 4G and 5G trials.
The trials will be carried out to validate the performance of Samsung’s 4G and 5G network solutions in Virgin Media O2’s commercial network.
In addition, they will be conducted to evaluate the interoperability between Samsung’s latest solutions and Virgin Media O2’s 2G and 3G legacy networks.
Launched in June this year, Virgin Media O2 is a joint venture between Liberty Global and Telefónica in the UK. The telecom company claims to have 47 million connections across broadband, mobile, TV and home phone.
Samsung Electronics networks business global sales and marketing head, executive vice president Woojune Kim said: “With this trial, we are excited to join hands with Virgin Media O2 to demonstrate the readiness of our 5G network solutions for deployment in the U.K. and our capabilities in bringing immersive and reliable 4G and 5G mobile experiences to users.
“At Samsung, we are continuously enhancing mobile experiences through powerful network solutions that advance and drive 5G to new levels.”
Samsung will offer its advanced solutions for the trials.
The solutions include baseband unit, 5G Massive MIMO radios, as well as 4G radios on both low-band and mid-band spectrums.
According to Samsung, its latest baseband unit is designed to support both 4G and 5G technologies in a single unit to provide enhanced performance.
With a slim and lightweight design, Samsung’s 5G Massive MIMO radios are claimed to offer easy and quick installation for operators.
Besides, they are designed to provide increased coverage and data speeds to drive enhanced 5G end-user experiences.
Virgin Media O2 chief technology officer Jeanie York said: “Vendor diversity is crucial to developing safe, secure and more efficient networks.
“We look forward to undertaking these initial trials with Samsung, which is another milestone in our continued journey to provide the best possible 5G experience for our customers, as well as boosting our 4G network, as we look to upgrade the U.K.”
In September this year, Samsung Electronics has expanded collaboration with the Japanese telecom company KDDI to speed up the 5G network expansion.
As part of the partnership, the company is expected to deploy its cloud-native fully virtualised Radio Access Network (vRAN) solutions for the mid-band spectrum in KDDI’s 5G network.