The demands on uplink performance are increasing with the rise of live streaming, multi-player gaming and video conferences. Upload speeds determine how fast your device can send data to gaming servers or transmit high-resolution videos to the cloud. As more consumers seek to document and share their experiences with the world in real-time, enhanced uplink experiences provide an opportunity to use the network to improve how they map out their route home, check player stats online and upload videos and selfies to share with friends and followers.

While current smartphones and customer premise equipment (CPEs) can only support 2Tx antennas, this industry-first demonstration validated the enhanced mobile capability of 3Tx antenna support. This approach not only improves upload speeds but also enhances spectrum and data transmission efficiency, as well as overall network performance.

The test was conducted in Samsung’s lab, based in Suwon, Korea. Samsung provided its industry-leading 5G network solutions, including its C-Band Massive MIMO radios, virtualized Distributed Unit (vDU) and core. The MediaTek test device featuring its new M80-based CPE chipset began with one uplink channel apiece at 1,900MHz and 3.7GHz, but added an extra uplink flow using MIMO on 3.7GHz. Both companies achieved a peak throughput rate of 363Mbps, an uplink speed that is near theoretical peak using 3Tx antennas.

“We are excited to have successfully achieved this industry breakthrough with MediaTek, bringing greater efficiency and performance to consumer devices,” said Dongwoo Lee, Head of Technology Solution Group, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “Faster uplink speeds bring new possibilities and have the potential to transform user experiences. This milestone further demonstrates our commitment to improving our customers’ networks using the most advanced technology available.”

“Enhancing uplink performance using groundbreaking tri-antenna and 5G UL infrastructure technologies will ensure next-generation 5G experiences continue to impress users globally,” said HC Hwang, General Manager of Wireless Communication System and Partnership at MediaTek. “Our collaboration with Samsung has proved our combined technical capabilities to overcome previous limits, enhancing network performance and efficiency, opening up new possibilities for service providers and consumers to enjoy faster and more reliable 5G data connectivity.”

“With demands on mobile networks rising, enhancing upload performance is essential to improving consumer and enterprise connectivity, as well as application experiences,” said Will Townsend, VP & Principal Analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. “Samsung and MediaTek have achieved an important 5G Standalone milestone in a demonstration which underscores a tangible network benefit and does so in a way that can help operators maximize efficiency.”

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 virtualized RAN and Core to private network solutions and AI-powered automation tools. The company currently provides network solutions to mobile operators that deliver connectivity to hundreds of millions of users worldwide.

Together, the companies are working to reduce the waste attributable to Samsung mobile devices distributed by Orange by extending the lifecycle of a typical product. Orange will offer an extension on the trade-in and the collection programs on used Samsung devices and add a Samsung Certified Refurbished device program through Orange channels. Additionally, the collaboration will leverage the implementation of the Eco-Rating methodology, a pan-industry initiative driven by a consortium of European mobile operators, across Samsung Galaxy smartphones. The new rating will evaluate the environmental impact of the mobile phones during their entire lifecycle from design to disposal, allowing Samsung and Orange to implement further improvements.

As part of this agreement, Samsung and Orange are also preparing for the deployment of advanced 5G standalone (SA) services. The collaboration will see the implementation of end-to-end testing of Samsung devices and technology such as network slicing and voice over Orange’s 5G SA test networks. The process will explore new use-cases made possible through 5G SA network capabilities to support both advanced industrial and entertainment-related services.

Samsung and Orange are also strengthening their collaboration to bring a connected experience powered by Samsung Galaxy devices to Orange customers. This multi-device approach will be deployed in Orange stores and online channels to support Orange’s multi-service strategy, delivering an immersive and seamless mobile experience to end users.

Furthermore, the companies will combine their product and technology assets to provide an upgraded digital activation experience to Orange customers through Samsung smartphone personalization. Samsung will deploy SIM-based personalization of its mobile devices for Orange customers on a single mobile software configuration. Samsung’s over-the-air personalization service will facilitate the discovery and seamless installation of key Orange applications on eligible Samsung Galaxy smartphones regardless of where the customers purchase their Galaxy smartphones.

Finally, Samsung and Orange will progressively generalize the deployment of eSIM activation to a wider range of Samsung devices connected to Orange networks. This will further simplify their users’ experience and reduce the share of plastic-based SIM cards used across the Orange European footprint.

Philippe Lucas, Executive Vice President, Orange Innovation Devices and Partnerships, Orange, commented, “this partnership closely mirrors Orange’s core priorities, contributing to our goals to move rapidly to fulfill our circular economy ambitions and address consumer and societal demand for sustainable devices by pushing trade-in and refurbishment schemes to extend product lifecycles and reduce waste. Furthermore, our commitment to sustainability will drive innovation, enabling differentiation and ultimately deliver growth, as we respond to evolving customer needs. Our close working relationship with Samsung is a great asset in realizing these ambitions.”

“Samsung is dedicated to innovative, strategic partnerships that enable us to scale positive impact around the world,” said Bryan Choi, Executive Vice President and Head of Strategic Marketing of Mobile eXperience Business, Samsung Electronics. “We are pleased to strengthen our relationship with Orange and see Galaxy devices being recycled and reused in different ways and to help provide a more seamless experience for the Galaxy community.”

About Orange

Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with sales of 42.5 billion euros in 2021 and 140,000 employees worldwide at 31 December 2021, including 78,000 employees in France. The Group has a total customer base of 271 million customers worldwide at 31 December 2021, including 224 million mobile customers and 23 million fixed broadband customers. The Group is present in 26 countries. Orange is also a leading provider of global IT and telecommunication services to multinational companies under the brand Orange Business Services. In December 2019, the Group presented its new “Engage 2025” strategic plan, which, guided by social and environmental accountability, aims to reinvent its operator model. While accelerating in growth areas and placing data and AI at the heart of its innovation model, the Group will be an attractive and responsible employer, adapted to emerging professions.

Orange is listed on Euronext Paris (symbol ORA) and on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol ORAN).

For more information on the internet and on your mobile: www.orange.com, www.orange-business.com or to follow us on Twitter: @orangegrouppr.

Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trademarks of Orange or Orange Brand Services Limited.

This announcement follows a series of tests completed last year to verify Samsung’s private 5G network solutions on NTT East’s network, demonstrating the capabilities required to build an optimized private 5G network that meets specific enterprise needs.

Leveraging 5G SA

This month, the companies successfully completed a 5G Standalone (SA) technological verification, achieving increased uplink throughput by optimizing uplink and downlink allocation ratio in NTT East Research Facility. This improved uplink performance will be a key enabler for advanced services that require high data transmission — such as live video monitoring, connected drones and automated vehicles.

For the technological verification, Samsung provided its end-to-end 5G solutions — including its outdoor radio units, baseband unit and 5G SA Core — to deliver the highest standards of quality, interoperability and stability. Samsung also used HPE’s software to ensure security in the network.

This verification was conducted using NTT East’s 4.8 – 4.9GHz spectrum, which is a frequency band dedicated for the Local 5G networks initiative in Japan — a government program that enables enterprises to deploy private 5G networks using the country’s assigned frequency band, independent of traditional mobile networks.

“We are excited to advance in accelerating our private 5G network expansion in Japan,” said Riaki Hoshino, Senior Vice President & Executive Officer at NTT East. “In continuing our collaboration with Samsung, we look to deliver the most innovative 5G services and transformative experiences possible for our enterprise customers, tailored to their specific needs.”

“Private 5G networks, powered by Samsung’s comprehensive portfolio of 5G solutions, will create a new wave of opportunities for enterprises, driven by improved productivity and superior connectivity,” said Woojune Kim, Executive Vice President, Head of Global Sales & Marketing, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “We’re proud to support NTT East in the expansion of Local 5G, which will impact a range of industries including agriculture, manufacturing and transportation.

NTT East is a leading telecommunications company, providing services in the east area of Japan.

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.

Since then, Samsung and KT have been preparing for 5G SA launch through multiple tests and trials in KT’s major offices and in urban areas. Today’s deployment will help accelerate KT’s 5G vision to deliver socio-economic value and enhanced consumer experiences across Korea through the advancement of 5G.

“Our 5G SA service will be an important step in unlocking the full potential of 5G and it will bring new value to our customers,” said Youngsoo Seo, Senior Vice President and Director of Network Research Technology Unit, Network Group at KT. “As a digital platform company, KT will continue to make efforts to help drive Korea’s Digital New Deal and ensure our customers enjoy the best experiences and opportunities that 5G has to offer.”

Unlocking 5G’s Full Potential

The implementation of 5G SA networks opens up new business opportunities for service providers, enabling them to reduce time-to-service, and accelerate a new generation of use cases and opportunities for consumers and businesses.

For this commercial launch, Samsung provided KT its end-to-end 5G network solutions from Radio Access Network (RAN) to Core. KT facilitated a smooth transition to 5G SA by using Samsung’s 5G RAN and Core, which can support 5G SA and NSA simultaneously.

“Samsung is proud to play a leading role in placing Korea at the forefront of network technology innovation,” said Seungil Kim, Vice President and Head of Korea Business, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “Our reliable and flexible 5G SA architecture, powered by our 5G RAN and Core, will enable KT to offer its users the next generation of enhanced use cases and mobile experiences. By introducing 5G SA services in Korea, we are taking a meaningful step in 5G journey, and look forward to delivering more transformative experiences to customers and businesses with KT.”

For more information on 5G SA, please refer to Samsung’s whitepaper: 5G Standalone Architecture

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.

The 5G SA Core, jointly developed by Samsung Electronics and SK Telecom, not only supports technologies including network slicing and function modularization based on 3GPP standards, but also offers additional functions that operators have been using since LTE, include billing, subscriber management and operational convenience system. The interoperability assessment is the final stage for verifying the validity of 5G SA data transmission, signifying that the SA system is ready to be launched for commercial service.

Both companies implemented several cutting-edge technologies in the 5G SA Core that has been used for the interoperability. The technologies include Data Parallel Processing technology that performs QoS and transmission control simultaneously; Data Acceleration technology that classifies and distributes similar traffic types; and Path Optimization technology that automatically delivers data traffic to Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) platform.

“The fundamental structure of 5G SA is built on a completely new configuration, successfully delivering the most optimized 5G service to customers and enterprises across numerous industries,” said Jaeho Jeon, Executive Vice President and Head of R&D, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “Maintaining Korea’s leadership in network innovations through continuous investments in next-generation technologies is important to Samsung and SK Telecom, and the companies will continue to collaborate on developing and commercializing 5G SA.”

“Along with the initial phase of NSA rollout, we have been continuously focusing on researching and developing the SA technology in order to provide customers a differentiated service quality with innovative products, which will be launched in the first half of next year,” said Park Jin-hyo, Chief Technology Officer and Head of ICT R&D Center at SK Telecom. “By strengthening bilateral collaboration with Samsung, SK Telecom will drive and lead highly innovative 5G technologies and solutions.”

Once 5G SA is commercialized, data processing efficient will be improved by threefold, allowing efficient control for supporting massive data traffic. Moreover, 5G SA system is highly optimized for emerging next generation services such as Autonomous driving, Smart Factory, Smart Farm, and AR/VR.

For the past five years, the two companies have been collaborating on LTE and 5G development, which ultimately led to this successful 5G SA Core interoperability test. Some of other accomplishments include the commercialization of Virtualized LTE Core and Packet Optimization system; and they have completed the development of 3GPP Rel. 15 based SA Core in July last year, and successfully launched 5G NSA commercial service in April this year.

About SK Telecom

SK Telecom is the largest mobile operator in Korea with nearly 50 percent of the market share. As the pioneer of all generations of mobile networks, the company has launched the fifth generation (5G) network on December 1, 2018. The company is not only leading innovations in the field of mobile network, but is also creating unprecedented value in areas such as media, security and commerce. In the Fourth Industrial Revolution, SK Telecom will inspire the world, building a future beyond expectations. Building on its strength in mobile services, the company is also creating unprecedented value in diverse ICT-related markets including media, security and commerce. For more information, please contact skt_press@sk.com or sktelecom@bm.com