Samsung Electronics today announced that UScellular has enhanced its 5G network capabilities in the Mid-Atlantic region with Samsung’s 5G solutions. The companies have worked together to deploy a new network architecture using Samsung’s 5G mmWave and virtualized Radio Access Network (vRAN) solution to support UScellular’s growing fixed wireless access and mobile traffic. In November, the operator launched this new service in several markets in the region, already delivering elevated connectivity to its customers.

For the Mid-Atlantic markets, UScellular utilized Samsung’s 5G Compact Macro — a 3GPP-based distributed architecture solution — to enable mmWave connectivity, offering its customers fast, reliable mobile and broadband services. Compact Macro consolidates the baseband, radio and antenna into a single, lightweight form factor for swift and easy installation. Samsung’s mmWave technology allows the operator to access the expansive bandwidth in the 28GHz and 39GHz bands, which support ultra-high speeds and low latency. By leveraging Samsung’s advanced solutions, UScellular could rapidly enhance the 5G performance through multi-gigabit speeds.

“We’re excited to work with Samsung as we continue to enhance our next-generation network,” said Mike Dienhart, Vice President of Engineering and Network Operations, UScellular. “Tapping into the ultra-high bandwidth of the mmWave spectrum allows us to unleash new capabilities and deliver cutting-edge customer experiences. Samsung’s proven expertise in innovative 5G and vRAN makes them an ideal partner.”

Samsung is also offering its notable and widely used vRAN solution with Central Unit functionality to support UScellular’s virtualized network. Samsung’s vRAN provides the operator with additional bandwidth and advanced intelligence capabilities including energy saving features, while enabling the company to quickly scale capacity and efficiently deploy advanced services. This network advancement highlights UScellular’s commitment to leading 5G innovation.

“We’re extremely pleased that UScellular selected Samsung’s industry-leading mmWave and vRAN solutions as key enablers for their 5G network enhancement in this area,” said Wilf Norrlinger, Vice President, US Sales, Networks Business, Samsung Electronics America. “This collaboration showcases how our innovations in areas such as vRAN and mmWave are unlocking new capabilities. It’s exciting to collaborate with forward-thinking providers like UScellular and push the next-generation wireless to new frontiers.”

The companies have a strong working relationship and have been working together on new network configurations to support UScellular’s growing fixed wireless customer base.

Samsung has pioneered the successful delivery of 5G end-to-end solutions, including chipsets, radios and cores. Through ongoing research and development, Samsung drives the industry to advance 5G networks with its market-leading product portfolio, including vRAN 3.0, Open RAN, core to private network solutions and AI-powered automation tools. The company currently provides innovative network solutions to mobile operators that deliver boundless connectivity to hundreds of millions of users worldwide.

About UScellular
UScellular is the fourth-largest full-service wireless carrier in the United States, providing national network coverage and industry-leading innovations designed to help customers stay connected to the things that matter most. The Chicago-based carrier provides a strong, reliable network supported by the latest technology and offers a wide range of communication services that enhance consumers’ lives, increase the competitiveness of local businesses and improve the efficiency of government operations. Through its After School Access Project, the company has donated more than $30 million in hotspots and service to help youth connect to reliable internet. To learn more about UScellular, visit one of its retail stores or www.uscellular.com. To get the latest news, visit newsroom.uscellular.com.

“Viettel has continued to prioritize building 5G infrastructure in key areas of the city,” said Tao Duc Thang, Deputy General Director from Viettel. “Viettel will join hands to make smart city development in Da Nang more synchronous and modern, to connect broadband in multi-dimensional and safe ways, ensuring best network infrastructure for digital government development, supporting for business and growth of Da Nang.”

With the main mission to build a digitalized society, Viettel has built 4G telecommunications infrastructure covering 97% of the Vietnamese population. The company also pioneers in providing the first 5G service in Vietnam. Up to now, 11 provinces/cities of Vietnam have 5G Viettel coverage (including Hanoi, Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Vinh Phuc, Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City, Ba Ria–Vung Tau, Binh Phuoc, Thua Thien–Hue and Da Nang). People in these areas can experience 5G for free with unlimited capacity, on many 5G support devices. The 5G Viettel network in the above areas has a stable data download speed of 600-700 Mbps, the highest of up to more than 1Gbps.

For the commercial trial in Da Nang, Samsung provided its latest 4G and 5G solutions, which include its baseband unit as well as 64T64R Massive MIMO radios and radios on mid-band spectrum. Samsung’s latest baseband unit offers improved performance with industry leading capacity and throughput, while supporting both 4G and 5G technologies. The company’s 64T64R 5G Massive MIMO radio has the capability to power highly-congested and populated areas, delivering increased coverage and data speeds for enhanced 5G end-user experiences.

“We are excited to work with Viettel to bring immersive and reliable 5G services to consumers, and demonstrate Samsung’s technical leadership in Vietnam. This trial marks a big first step for the two companies’ collaborative efforts in Vietnam,” said Ho Chi Dung, Vice President, Network Business, Samsung VINA. “We look forward to supporting Viettel with a network that is ready to unlock the future of mobile connectivity in Vietnam, and that brings a new level of 5G experiences to the country’s increasing number of mobile users.”

Samsung has pioneered the successful delivery of 5G end-to-end solutions including chipsets, radios and core. Through ongoing research and development, Samsung drives the industry to advance 5G networks with its market-leading product portfolio from fully virtualized RAN and Core to private network solutions and AI-powered automation tools. The company is currently providing network solutions to mobile operators that deliver connectivity to hundreds of millions of users around the world.

To power immersive mobile experiences in 5G, Samsung has introduced advanced 5G solutions that include new baseband units and radios. Among these 5G radios, Massive Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) radios are one of the most attractive options for mobile operators looking to deploy or enhance their 5G networks. The massive MIMO radio is a breakthrough solution that is equipped with a lot of antennas for better coverage and more capacity than a radio. As 5G networks continue to expand around the world using mid-band spectrum, 5G Massive MIMO radios with hundreds of antennas are commonly deployed in the market to help handle the growth in mobile data traffic.

To develop these powerful 5G Massive MIMO radios, numerous tests must be conducted to inspect the products for performance and reliability. One of the tests is conducted at a special facility called an anechoic chamber. Samsung Electronics has several anechoic chambers that are used to analyze and test the antenna performance of its radios. Recently, the company opened a large anechoic chamber at its Digital City campus in Suwon, Korea in order to enhance its ability to introduce more advanced and compelling 5G solutions to its customers.

Testing in Anechoic Chambers

The term “anechoic” comes from “an-echoic”, meaning non-echoing or non-reflective in Greek. As its name suggests, this room can emulate a non-reflective environment by using special walls and ceiling and floor designs to completely absorb all reflected electromagnetic waves. This is extremely important since even a small electromagnetic wave can disrupt an accurate antenna measurement. The interior walls are built with a number of absorbers that have a pyramid shape and help to minimize interference in the shielded room. This concept is very similar to how a stealth aircraft evades radar detection by absorbing and scattering radar signals.

The chamber’s interior is also equipped with a parabolic reflector. This reflector is used to collect radio waves from a generator and re-project the waves to the 5G radios placed inside the chamber. By collecting and re-projecting the waves at different angles, the parabolic reflector can simulate long distances, making it seem as though the 5G radio were transmitting radio waves to a mobile device from a far-off location. While the size of the chamber is relative to the simulated distance, Samsung’s chambers can simulate a distance of as much as hundreds of kilometers, creating what is called a “far field condition”. To measure the accuracy of radio performance, the size of the chamber is critical.

The newly added non-reflective chamber in Samsung’s Digital City is the size of a basketball court. Beneath the reflector, the engineer looks as small as an insect!

Samsung’s anechoic chambers are also able to cover a wide range of spectrum across low, mid and high-bands. This is especially useful in evaluating 5G radio performance since 5G spans various spectrum bands. Specifically, Samsung’s facilities have the ability to test mmWave antennas, which power high-capacity 5G mobile services. The mmWave spectrum is not used in 4G technology but is crucial to supporting immersive 5G use cases due to its wide-bandwidth.

By enabling tests to be conducted using a range of spectrum, the data sets collected in this way will help Samsung’s engineers verify and analyze a very high number of radio patterns. Based on the findings, engineers are able to refine and improve 5G radio performance to deliver best-in-class solutions for mobile services.

“We are extending our capabilities by developing powerful 5G solutions with the newly added anechoic chamber,” said Seunghwan Yoon, Vice President and Head of the RF Lab at Samsung Electronics’ Networks Business. “With vigorous quality control and verification processes, we look forward to bringing the full benefits of cutting-edge 5G solutions to more users for immersive mobile experiences.”

Better, More Powerful and Reliable 5G Solutions

The establishment of anechoic chambers is part of Samsung’s ongoing efforts to provide superior, reliable 5G solutions that deliver ultra-fast connectivity to users. These chambers help Samsung develop innovative antenna systems tailored to advanced 5G solutions in a wide array of spectrum bands. By leveraging a range of tools and facilities like anechoic chambers, Samsung looks forward to delivering leading-edge 5G solutions that offer consumers and enterprises around the globe new and immersive mobile experiences.

Besides the company’s hardware-bound RAN solutions, the development process of Samsung’s fully virtualized RAN (vRAN) was also verified by the NESAS. The company’s vRAN has been widely deployed to Tier-1 U.S. operator commercial networks, and selected to power Europe’s extensive virtual network project.

To pass the assessment, Samsung’s product development and lifecycle management processes for its network solutions underwent an independent audit to confirm how security is integrated into their design, development, implantation and maintenance processes.

The NESAS provides an industry-wide security assurance framework and defines the security requirements for product development and lifecycle processes, using 3GPP-defined security test cases. The audit of Samsung’s networks solutions, completed in July 2021, enables the company to increase the transparency of its entire development process, reaffirming its commitment to network security.

“We are pleased to be recognized by the NESAS security audit for our dedication to building secure and reliable networks,” said Sohyong Chong, Senior Vice President and Head of S/W R&D, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “As a trusted partner to global operators, we will continue to ensure our product development and full lifecycle management processes of network equipment to achieve the highest security standards. This will be essential as the world evolves to a 5G framework that meets the high-performance and security demands of customers.”

This NESAS assessment follows Samsung’s continued achievements in network security, which include receiving the Common Criteria (CC) certification for its 5G solutions and the ISO/IEC 27001 certification earlier this year.

Samsung has pioneered the successful delivery of 5G end-to-end solutions including chipsets, radios, and core. Through ongoing research and development, Samsung drives the industry to advance 5G networks with its market-leading product portfolio from fully virtualized RAN and Core to private network solutions and AI-powered automation tools. The company is currently providing network solutions to mobile operators that deliver connectivity to hundreds of millions of users around the world.

With 5G networks, a self-learning AI-based tool’s ability to manage operations and optimize performance offers clear benefits for mobile operators. That said, we believe that complementing such tools with human creativity and decision-making will help bring the technology’s enormous potential to reality. With this in mind, Samsung has developed an AI tool known as CognitiV Analytics, which can collaborate with human counterparts to help mobile operators resolve various issues related to managing 5G networks.

I’d like to share how Samsung’s latest human-AI collaborative tool helps mobile operators optimize services and manage 5G networks more effectively.

Quality and Collaboration Are Key

CognitiV Analytics represents a big step forward for 5G network management. The solution’s ability to swiftly identify technical issues and accurately analyze network quality stems from two key features. The first is its ability to analyze the performance and quality of services across entire networks, while the second is the collaboration it fosters with its human counterparts.

In order to properly analyze network performance, it requires the collection and evaluation of entire service flows for each and every user. For example, in order to determine the service quality that a subscriber is experiencing when streaming videos, mobile operators need to know how various elements of their 5G networks, including RAN and Core, are operating together, and whether any issues have arisen. This is no small task. Because the sheer amount of raw data from each element is so massive, analyzing that data requires an extremely powerful AI tool.

To aid this process, Samsung and Zhilabs, a Samsung Company, created CognitiV Analytics. This powerful solution collects data from various sources from networks and uses that data to create a big-picture snapshot of the network’s status.

The solution offers comprehensive analysis, making it easier for mobile operators to evaluate and view network performance, services and other valuable information, eliminating the need to utilize multiple analytics solutions to obtain the same information. CognitiV Analytics tool offers the ability to offer fast analysis and also minimizes human error that can come with moving complex data across multiple tools.

By working closely with human counterparts and providing them with detailed explanations of its actions, our CognitiV Analytics solution offers greater transparency on how AI addresses particular problems. Over time, these interactions will help increase the tool’s accuracy and efficiency while enabling mobile operators to become more familiar with and trusting of AI.

The Importance of Strengthening AI Tools

CognitiV Analytics not only showcases what our AI technology is capable of, but it also demonstrates how AI can be used to solve important issues, and proves just how easily it can be incorporated into commercial networks. Included among the solution’s key features are its abilities; to learn using diverse data sets; to apply rule-based analysis; and to implement automation.

CognitiV Analytics’ AI has proven capable of quickly ascertaining important information about mobile operators’ networks even at the initial stage of its implementation, when only small data sets have been available. In order for AI to learn, it must be able to work with both labeled and unlabeled data. A typical data label might indicate whether a photo contains a horse or a cow, or what type of action is being performed in a video. Labeled network data, however, is expensive to obtain, since a few highly trained engineers can perform sophisticated labeling process. Therefore, in order for AI analytics tool to offer meaningful insights even at the initial stage, its AI must be capable of learning from unlabeled data. Our AI has the capability to learn from both labeled and unlabeled data, being able to support mobile operators from day one.

While most 5G network data sets can be analyzed with AI, some data features distinct characteristics that make it unsuitable for AI-based analysis. Such cases require users to apply their own rules, based on their experience and expertise, to assess their data. This is called rule-based analysis. CognitiV Analytics incorporates this analysis by enabling users to mix and match AI-based and rule-based analysis. This streamlines connections by offering mobile operators more accurate evaluations of network performance.

When we talk about automation in 5G networks, we’re talking about a process that typically features four phases: (1) discover the problem, (2) identify the root cause, (3) find the solution, and (4) apply the solution to the network. Some mobile operators tend to prefer to take some time to understand how AI-based analytics tools manage issues in each phase. Those of us in the industry believe this boils down to the familiarity and reliability of AI. Our CognitiV Analytics solution is designed to address the issue by applying each phase in steps, so mobile operators can take time to understand the AI in managing their 5G networks.

Samsung’s CognitiV Analytics is already being utilized in commercial networks that enable connections for hundreds of millions of mobile users. What is notable about this is the fact that our solution supports closed-loop automation, automatically offering recommended configurations for each element of a particular network. It features automatic KPI monitoring and fallback functions to guard against KPI degradation, which helps keep service levels constant across entire networks. In addition, based on its analysis of real-time data, CognitiV Analytics automatically adjusts network configurations to better manage fluctuations in traffic patterns and environmental changes.

Harnessing AI for Future Networks

For today’s mobile operators, proper network management is a complicated and essential part of keeping the world connected. It’s also an aspect of their operations that features no room for error. As the number of connected devices increases and more immersive use cases are introduced, mobile operators require simple tools that aid managing commercial networks and allow them to quickly respond to pressing issues. Powerful, AI-based management tools working closely with human counterparts make this possible.

We look forward to creating a future in which fully automated mobile networks behave like living organisms, promptly identifying issues and resolving them like our body would heal a wound. This means that if, for example, we found ourselves unable to stream a movie on our smartphone, the network’s AI-based management tool would fix the issue on its own. When AI expects an increase in traffic, it would expand network capacity by automatically adding network resources. While it will take some time to make these experiences a reality, we can make them possible by continuing to advance AI the right way.

CognitiV Analytics is a reflection of Samsung’s ongoing commitment to harnessing AI, which will bring incredible opportunities to enrich our everyday lives. Combining the power of AI and human creativity can provide mobile operators with the solutions they need to simplify operations and better manage network resources.

Topics covered during the event included Samsung’s 5G vision and latest network innovations; its industry leading virtualized solutions to bring innovation for mobile operators and enterprises; its new range of chipsets to be embedded in the Samsung’s next generation 5G solutions; and the company’s complete lineup of private network solutions to transform industries.

Check out some highlights from the event below.

The new chipsets were announced today at “Samsung Networks: Redefined,” the company’s virtual public event highlighting notable 5G accomplishments and new solutions for network transformation. At the event, Samsung emphasized its experience in developing in-house chipsets for more than two decades and reiterated the significant investments behind the launch of multiple generations of chipsets starting from 3G, leading to today’s cutting-edge 5G solutions.

The newly introduced chipsets are designed to take Samsung’s next generation 5G lineup to a new level, boosting performance, increasing power efficiency and reducing the size of the 5G solutions.

Samsung’s newly-introduced chips are:

• 3^rd Generation mmWave RFIC:
  This new chip follows prior generation RFICs from Samsung. The first generation, introduced in 2017, powered the company’s 5G FWA solutions supporting the world’s first 5G home broadband service in the U.S. Two years later, the second generation powered Samsung’s 5G Compact Macro, the industry’s first mmWave 5G NR radio, which has since been widely deployed in the U.S.
  
  Samsung’s 3^rd generation RFIC chip supports both 28GHz and 39GHz spectrums, and will be embedded in Samsung’s next generation 5G Compact Macro. The chip incorporates advanced technology that reduces antenna size by nearly 50%, maximizing the 5G radio’s interior space. Moreover, the latest RFIC chip improves power consumption, resulting in a more compact-sized, lightweight 5G radio. Lastly, output power and coverage of the new RFIC chip have increased, doubling output power of the next generation 5G Compact Macro.

• 2^nd Generation 5G Modem SoC:
  Samsung’s first 5G modem SoCs, introduced in 2019, powered the company’s new 5G baseband unit and Compact Macro. To date, more than 200,000 of these 5G modem SoCs have been shipped.
  
  This new second generation chip will enable Samsung’s forthcoming baseband unit to have twice the capacity, while cutting power consumption in half per cell, in comparison to the previous generation. Moreover, supporting both below-6GHz and mmWave spectrums, it offers beamforming and increased power efficiency for Samsung’s next generation 5G Compact Macro and Massive MIMO radio, while reducing the size for both solutions.

• DFE-RFIC Integrated Chip:
  In 2019, the first Digital/Analog Front End (DAFE) chip was introduced by Samsung, serving as an essential component of 5G radios (including Samsung’s 5G Compact Macro), by converting analog-to-digital and vice versa, and supporting both 28GHz and 39GHz spectrums.
  
  This new chip combines RFIC and DFE functions for both below-6GHz and mmWave spectrums. By integrating these functions, the chip not only doubles frequency bandwidth, but also reduces the size and increases output power for Samsung’s next generation solutions, including 5G Compact Macro.

“This newly unveiled chipset is the fundamental component of our state-of-art 5G solutions, developed through a long-standing R&D effort that enables Samsung to be at the forefront of delivering cutting-edge 5G technologies,” said Junehee Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of R&D, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “As one of the largest semiconductor companies in the world, we are committed to developing the most innovative chips for the next phase of 5G advancement, integrated with the features mobile operators seek to stay competitive.”

“5G chipsets are critical to achieving the performance capabilities required for next-generation network deployments,” stated Anshel Sag, Moor Insights & Strategy. “Samsung’s long-standing expertise in developing chipsets in-house is a key differentiator, positioning it as a leader in the delivery of 5G network solutions with the features and benefits operators seek to advance their 5G strategies.”

Samsung has pioneered the successful delivery of 5G end-to-end solutions including chipsets, radios, and core. This includes the creation and shipment of innovative chips from Samsung’s manufacturing facility in Austin, Texas. Through ongoing research and development, Samsung drives the industry to advance 5G networks with its market-leading product portfolio from fully virtualized RAN and Core to private network solutions and AI-powered automation tools. The company is currently providing network solutions to mobile operators that deliver connectivity to hundreds of millions of users around the world.

A key goal of the collaboration is to drive innovation that lowers the barrier to entry for deployment of private 5G networks in enterprises—including retail stores, smart factories, and entertainment venues, such as stadiums. Through a cloud-based approach to the market, the companies aim to achieve greater cost efficiencies in 5G deployments.

Full Virtualization: The Key To Accelerating Private 5G Networks

The collaboration highlights key benefits of cloud networks, which can accelerate 5G expansion for enterprises, and help them deploy private 5G networks faster. Implementing fully-virtualized 5G solutions on a cloud platform also enables vast improvements in the scalability and flexibility of networks for mobile operators and enterprises.

“We’re excited to be working with Microsoft to help enterprises transform the way they operate through next-generation communications,” said Wonil Roh, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Product Strategy, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “Combining Samsung’s virtualized 5G solutions and Microsoft Azure cloud, we look forward to delivering a best-in-class 5G solution that advances opportunities in the private network sector. Through this collaboration, we will continue to push the boundaries of innovation in 5G and beyond.”

“Microsoft is pleased to work with Samsung to accelerate the deployment of 5G networks in enterprises. The combination of Microsoft Azure and Samsung’s virtualized 5G offerings will enable new solutions and lower the barriers to entry for private 5G networks for our mutual customers across retail, manufacturing, entertainment and many other industries,” said Yousef Khalidi, Corporate Vice President, Azure for Operators, Microsoft Corp.

Samsung is a pioneer in the successful delivery of 5G end-to-end solutions ranging from chipset, radio, and core network. The company has been supporting 5G commercial services in leading markets, including Korea and the U.S., where the majority of the worldwide 5G subscribers are currently located, and it is supporting the expansion of 5G in Japan. In addition, the company is rapidly expanding its global footprint to new markets including Canada and New Zealand.

“The industry is undergoing many dramatic changes, with people requiring new ways of communication yet to be experienced. Samsung is seeking to maximize user happiness by identifying key drivers and implementing the newest solutions,” said Youngky Kim, President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “At Samsung, our innovative spirit will extend to the 5G era to enrich people’s lives by making day-to-day tasks easier, simpler and automated.”

5G Solutions

At MWC 2017, Samsung will feature its latest advancements in 5G solutions for both mmWave and below 6GHz spectrums. A live demonstration of mmWave 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) will show a maximum data throughput of 4Gbps delivered to the 5G FWA house. 5G FWA will be a game changer in the entire global broadband market and also act as a catalyst for the mobile 5G era.

Samsung also plans on introducing live video analysis involving 5G use cases, which shows huge amounts of video information collected in real-time, and also a latency-free analysis of the videos at the Mobile Edge Cloud. With big data emerging as a global sensation, video analysis can be utilized in areas such as crime prevention, shopping mall logistics management and customer purchase pattern analysis.

Network Virtualization

With virtualization carrying a high significance in the 5G era, effective, agile and prompt network operation became a key topic for operators in introducing new business models and applications. At this year’s MWC, Samsung will demonstrate its virtualized RAN, which will evolve to a Unified RAN, integrating Legacy 4G and 5G together, as well as its automated end-to-end orchestrator.

Through cloud network slicing, the adoption and operation of the latest services and applications will be made even easier through the embedded functions of artificial intelligence (AI), such as big data analytics tools and video IoT platform.

Network Capacity Solutions

Samsung will showcase its professional solutions, designed to enhance the perceived user experience as the mobile data traffic grows exponentially. ‘VoLTE Quality Monitoring & Analysis (VoMA)’ and ‘CognitiV Data Traffic Monitoring & Analysis (DMA)’ have been built to automatically monitor and optimize mobile data service quality for each individual user. By detecting abnormal situations or traffic congestions at a cell unit, each user can enjoy superior service quality. Samsung’s big data analytics enables all these by making the entire process automated.

Samsung will also conduct a live demonstration to show the speed 1Gbps, using LTE-Advance Pro technologies on 3 carrier aggregation, 4×4 MIMO and 256QAM technologies, as well as 5 carrier aggregation using a smartphone-type device.

In-Building and Campus Solutions

As hyper-immersive multimedia services are an important revenue generator, industry leaders are actively discussing ways to accommodate massive data traffic, such as License Assisted Access (LAA), Shared Spectrum (e.g. CBRS), MulteFire and WiFi AP. At this year’s MWC, Samsung will introduce the full line-up of smallcells and WiFi APs, which adds additional bandwidth to every house and venue regardless of service provider type, ranging from telecom operators, cable service providers and neutral hosts. By connecting to Samsung’s cloud managed services, automatic feature-upgrades and big data analytics-based optimization, as well as vertical application add-ons with Open API are made possible.

Samsung’s booth at MWC is located at the Exhibit Hall 2 Stand 2M10 in Fira Gran Via, and will be open from February 27 to March 2, 2017. To learn more about MWC 2017, please visit www.mobileworldcongress.com.