The IEEE Grade of Fellow is conferred by the IEEE Board of Directors upon a person with an outstanding record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest. The total number selected in any one year cannot exceed 0.1 percent of the total voting membership. Among the membership, IEEE Fellow is the highest grade and is recognized by the technical community as a prestigious honor and an important career achievement.

Master Lee is a representative expert of Samsung in the research and standardization of mobile communication technologies. He has made tremendous contributions on 3G, 4G, and 5G over the last 18 years, including incorporation of essential technologies into standards. From February 2003 to August 2008, he was a Vice Chairman of RAN1 working group of 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a global telecommunications standards organization, and led the standardization of 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) technologies.

In developing 5G standards, Master Lee has been representing Samsung and has made a crucial role to set up the standardization plan and to develop detailed standards. The 5G network is currently in the process of commercialization and can be characterized by the ultra-high speed of 20 Gbps, ultra-low latency of 0.001 second, and ultra-reliability of 99.999 percent. Because of these advances, 5G is expected to help provide unprecedented communication quality and create new services such as smart factory and vehicular communication.

Master Lee received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Korea, in 1993, 1995, and 2000, respectively. He is currently leading the research and standardization of 5G technologies in the Standard Research Team of Samsung Research.

“I am honored to be named IEEE Fellow as the recognition of my contributions during the last 18 years for evolution and standardization of mobile communications from 3G to 5G” said Master Lee. “I will continue to devote myself to the commercialization and further enhancement of 5G technologies as well as advanced research toward 6G.”

Samsung Electronics has other IEEE Fellows who were named in the past years as follows: Vice Chairman and CEO Kinam Kim of DS Division, Executive Vice President Daniel Lee of Samsung Research New York AI Center, and Vice President Jianzhong Zhang of Samsung Research America (SRA).

Based on the 2018 Busan meeting, the 3GPP will make the final announcement of 5G phase-1 standards at the general meeting that is going to be held in the U.S. next month. The 5G standardization process that started in April 2016 will end next month after a 27-month journey. In particular, the work carried out on the frontlines by Samsung engineers has helped to bring about the commercialization of 5G 21 months faster than the time taken for the 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) transition, which was 39 months. Some of the global consumers will be able to enjoy, as early as this year, the next generation services such as ultra-high definition content, artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous driving, and the Internet of Things (IoT) on 5G that is more than 20 times faster than the previous network.

“Samsung Electronics has been working on ultra-high frequency three years faster than other companies,” said Younsun Kim, Principal Engineer of Standards Research Team at Samsung Research and Vice Chairman of RAN1 working group in 3GPP. “When the world started to discuss the setting of standards, Samsung had already developed the related technologies. We had strong aspirations to bring the standardization for 5G commercialization faster than any other company in the world.”

Comparison between 4G LTE and 5G standardization schedules

“2017 vs 2020,” A Debate Over Setting the Standardization Period

Many in the industry turned their heads as the 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) identified ultra-high frequency above 6GHz as the optimal candidate band for 5G (refer to ‘Pioneer in 5G Standards, Part 1’), and a debate ensued between those who advocated for faster 5G standardization and others who were more reluctant to do so.

Samsung set 2017 as the completion period for the first 5G standardization as it developed the cutting-edge beamforming technology, Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) and other technologies to use ultra-high frequencies. However, other companies that were focusing on the 4G commercialization and had a late start on 5G R&D, countered with 2020 as the completion period for the first 5G standardization. This would have pushed the 5G commercialization period to 2021.

Samsung propelled to establish a workshop at the 3GPP, and 150 companies and more than 550 attendees came to Phoenix, the U.S. in September 2015. Here, the company proposed core technologies for 5G and provided a conciliatory gesture to delay the first standardization period, including the ultra-high frequency band, to 2018. As the participants from U.S., Japanese and Korean companies who wanted to commercialize 5G early showed great interests in the plan, the argument for ‘standardization in 2020’ was revoked. At the April 2016 5G standardization meeting, which was the first one organized by Samsung, companies reached an agreement of setting 2018 as the year to complete standardization.

The 3GPP 5G Workshop held on September 2015 in Phoenix, U.S.

Doubt Turns to Trust for Ultra-High Frequency through Vigorous Contacts to FCC and Others

From the early stage, Samsung has been eager to introduce the 5G ultra-high frequency technology to regulatory government agencies and international organizations. The company has been in constant contact with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) since 2012 because they always open their communication channels to explore new technologies. The FCC had a great interest in using ultra-high frequency due to saturation of using low frequencies below 6GHz. They positively replied to Samsung on the issue of using a 28GHz ultra-high frequency for the first time.

The FCC allocated ultra-high frequencies including 28GHz for 5G in July 2016, just three months after the first 3GPP standardization meeting. The U.S. is now looking forward to commercializing 5G communication in the second half of this year as the U.S. telecommunication companies are competing fiercely to lead on 5G services with their allocated frequencies. Such movements have acted as catalysts to move toward the standardization of 5G.

“When Samsung first introduced 5G standardization to the world in 2013, most doubted or ignored the idea,” said Hyukchoon Kwon, Principal Engineer of Standards Research team at Samsung Research. “Trust in Samsung and its 5G technology, as well as the rapid advancement towards standardization, were all possible not only because of technological developments but also due to constant contact with international organizations and various governments.”

Since 2015, Samsung has been actively suggesting 5G technology to the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), one of the three biggest international standards (ITU, IEC, ISO) and conformity assessment bodies for all fields of electrotechnology. The IEC published the white paper on the evaluation of 5G ultra-high frequency product electromagnetic waves in November 2017. The international standard on 5G device electromagnetic waves affecting the human body is expected to be completed as early as next year.

Samsung showcased its latest 5G innovations at MWC 2018 in Barcelona.

Five 3GPP Chair and Vice Chairs, and the Largest Number of 5G Patents Validate the Standards Leadership of Samsung

The international organization 3GPP that leads 5G standardization has 16 working groups under three Technical Support Groups (TSGs). Samsung has been in charge of four positions including the Chair of Service & System TSG and Chair of RAN4 working group, which oversees the frequency and performance that is key to 5G, and in 2018, one more Chair position – SA6 working group for mission-critical applications – was given to Samsung, as an evidence of how its leadership in 5G technology and standardization is recognized throughout the world.

Samsung also kept its eyes on registering patents to protect the innovative technologies. According to the Taiwan Patent Office in 2016, Samsung led 66 companies by owning 12.7 percent in more than 7,500 of the essential standard patents for 4G LTE and LTE-Advanced. The company continues its leadership on developing 5G-related technologies and securing essential standard patents. As the European Telecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI) allows companies related to the 5G standards to register their essential patents, Samsung registered the largest number of 1,254 patents as of May.

“The study on 5G ultra-high frequency started in 2009 and it is now heading to its goal of producing international standards after ten years of work, thanks to our engineers’ dedication, said Juho Lee, Master of Standards Research Team, Samsung Research. Samsung’s efforts to make people’s lives more abundant through advanced technologies will continue even after the commercialization of 5G.”

Starting May 21, the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), an initiative uniting the world’s leading telecommunications standard development organizations, will convene in Busan, Korea to complete communication standards, vital for the commercialization of 5G wireless communications. Samsung Electronics’ research into ultra-high frequency (mmWave) for 5G extends back to 2009 when the Dallas, Texas branch of Samsung Research, formerly known as the Digital Media & Communications (DMC) R&D center, fixed its sights on the ultra-high frequency above 6GHz.

Samsung Research’s Dallas, Texas branch, pictured in 2009

“We had a strong belief in the potential of ultra-high frequency, then considered uncharted space for the industry, and pushed forward in R&D, one step ahead of other companies,” said Sungho Choi, Vice President of the Standard Research Team at Samsung Research. “This was during a time when basically everyone in the telecommunications industry was busy preparing for the transition to 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE), and there was great uncertainty as to what would come after.”

Early Efforts by Samsung Electronics

In 2009, the Dallas office initiated an in-depth study into next generation telecommunications technology and delivered a proposal on ultra-high frequency to Samsung Research. In the extensive 300-page report, ultra-high frequency, with the application of cutting-edge beamforming technology, was seen as the method to solve the challenge of ultra-high-speed, large-volume transmission.

This was at a time, however, when the dominant opinion of papers and books on telecommunications had doubt about the application of ultra-high frequency due to its drawbacks. However, believing in the potential of its discovery, in 2011, Samsung Electronics initiated an in-house project to expand upon research, and in the following year, Samsung Research established a “Next Generation Communications Lab,” accelerating the development of ultra-high frequency and 5G technologies.

As the culmination of its early efforts, Samsung Electronics’ successful demonstration of the world’s first 5G communications, with speed of 1Gpbs, made headlines in 2013, thanks to the close to four years of advanced research at a time when 4G LTE was enjoying its rise to the height of popularity.

In 2013, Samsung Electronics successfully demonstrated the world’s first 5G communications, at a speed of 1Gbps.

Finding the Optimal Band for 5G, 28GHz

The research into ultra-high frequency posed a critical question for the international community related to the ideal frequency band for 5G. At the time, nationally regulated frequencies, in the range between 0 and 300GHz, were already allocated for communications, broadcasting, science and military purposes. The challenge was encouraging as many countries as possible to use the same bands for 5G to accelerate standardization and commercialization.

“When beginning our research, we studied almost every ‘frequency map’ in the world,” said Juyeon Song, Principal Engineer of the Standard Research Lab at Samsung Research. “We arrived at the conclusion that the most applicable ultra-high frequency band is 28GHz.”

Propelling Standard Development After Approval of Ultra-High Frequency as the 5G Candidate Band

Samsung strived to continue technology development after identifying the optimal candidate band for 5G, 28GHz. However, researchers soon reached an impasse: persuading those countries, who had already allocated the band for core industries other than communications, as well as certain business segments, who were reluctant to rush the commercialization of 5G during the dominance of 4G.

“Witnessing the saturation point of using traditional frequencies below 6GHz, more countries began to pay attention to ultra-high frequency,” said Hyoungjin Choi, Principal Engineer of the Standard Research Lab at Samsung Research. “Targeting these countries and companies with a great interest in the utilization of the frequency band and commercialization of 5G laid the foundation for standardization.”

During the 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC), organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a specialized agency of the United Nations, the Korean government submitted a proposal on by Samsung. However, the issue was alignment with countries that wanted to use the ultra-high frequency band for services other than telecommunications services. During the ensuing four-weeks of marathon meetings, several ultra-high frequency bands were finally approved as candidate bands for 5G, propelling standardization.

Since WRC in 2015, with debate ongoing, Samsung has continued its efforts to advocate and serve as the leading proponent of 5G standardization, towards the aim of the development of technologies related to ultra-high frequencies. Read the second part of this special series for more on Samsung’s journey after 2016 to develop 5G standards, including 28GHz^* ultra-high frequency.

During the 2015 WRC, the Korean government submitted a proposal to utilize ultra-high frequency technology for 5G.

^*The 3GPP is standardizing more than 30 candidate bands from a low frequency of 600MHz to ultra-high frequency of 40GHz. 28GHz is the representative ultra-high frequency band which leading 5G countries are seeking to prioritize to realize 5G commercialization.