DISH Wireless Launches Virtual Open RAN 5G Network with Samsung

Samsung delivers an initial shipment of 24,000 5G radios, and the first Samsung-virtualized RAN-supported sites go live across the DISH Wireless Open RAN cloud-based 5G network

Samsung Electronics and DISH Network Corporation (NYSE: DISH) launched Samsung-supported sites for the DISH Wireless 5G network, marking the beginning of Samsung’s role in the operator’s nation-wide rollout. With Samsung supplying an initial shipment of 24,000[1] Open RAN-compliant radios and 5G virtualized RAN (vRAN) software solutions, the companies are accelerating the DISH network deployment across the U.S., which is poised to provide reliable and fast nationwide coverage to DISH Wireless network users.

“Samsung is a key player in the DISH Wireless Open RAN ecosystem, created in collaboration with additional Open RAN leaders like Dell, VMware, AWS and others,” said Marc Rouanne, EVP and Chief Network Officer, DISH Wireless. “Samsung’s 5G vRAN solutions and our shared innovation process allow DISH Wireless to continue the DISH 5G multi-vendor, open and interoperable cloud-native network buildout, as we progress to covering 70 percent of the U.S. population.”

Deployment and testing of the Samsung-supported sites for the DISH 5G network is underway.

Since the announcement of their multi-year agreement in May 2022, DISH Wireless and Samsung advanced their collaboration—progressing from field tests to successfully activating the first live Samsung sites within the DISH Wireless 5G network. For this rollout, Samsung provided its comprehensive portfolio of 5G solutions, including its virtualized distributed unit (vDU), virtualized central unit (vCU) and Open RAN-compliant 5G radios, which support the DISH spectrum bands. Samsung also built new dual-band and tri-band Open RAN-compliant radios specific for this deployment.

“DISH Wireless is an innovator in mobile technologies and we are thrilled to reach new heights of connectivity together, validating the immense potential that virtualization and openness can bring to the industry,” said Junehee Lee, Executive Vice President, Head of Global Sales & Marketing, Networks Business, Samsung Electronics. “This milestone advances the wide-scale deployment of Samsung’s vRAN in the U.S. and we look forward to continuing our work with DISH Wireless to accelerate 5G expansion and lead the delivery of next-generation connectivity across the country.”

DISH Wireless and Samsung will continue to innovate within the DISH Open RAN architecture to provide their customers with reliable fast service and set the stage for DISH Wireless to offer enterprises a broad range of new services and enhanced capabilities.

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[1] 24,000 delivered as of 12/31/2022