A Strong Foundation Lays the Groundwork for Convenient 5G Technology

Unveiled at the event was a chipset supporting 28 GHz, a 5G spectrum, home devices, base stations and network core equipment. Samsung’s 5G devices, when installed in homes or enterprises, will automatically be recognized by 5G base stations and provided with ultra-fast broadband service of up to 1Gbps, while the network core equipment is responsible for resource management and real-time data traffic distribution.

Central to the initial phase of 5G is the notion of an ecosystem – an ecosystem that covers manufacturers of chipsets, devices and other equipment. Samsung stands out as a key player in the industry with end-to-end solutions that deal with each aspect of this 5G network cycle, enabling early 5G commercialization and stable service quality. This is precisely why Verizon, the largest mobile network operator in the U.S. and an industry leader when it comes to 5G commercialization, has selected Samsung as its vendor.

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“What it means for a single company to be able to provide chips, devices and equipment is that it can optimize 5G and bring out the best of this new exciting technology all by itself,” said Tim Baxter, President of Samsung Electronics America. “Beginning this year, we plan on peeling off the layers, one by one, to show how a connected world built by a full 5G commercial product lineup will unfold before our eyes.”

Six Years of R&D Finally Coming to Fruition

Samsung has demonstrated its technological expertise throughout the evolution of communications – from 2G to 3G and 4G. Indeed, the company was the first to commercialize CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access) during the 2G era. Samsung was also at the forefront of 4G LTE (Long-Term Evolution) innovation as a key vendor in technologically advanced markets such as the US, Japan, Korea and the UK. Its business has now expanded into rapidly developing India, where Samsung is the sole vendor of the country’s 4G LTE nationwide network.

Samsung has been convinced of the potential that the millimeter wave spectrum holds since 2012, and has been investing in 5G R&D ever since. These efforts have resulted in the successful development of beamforming technology that supports directional signal transmission or reception. Based on this achievement, a technology that enables transmission speeds of over 1Gbps and is capable of covering distances of up to 2 kilometers using a 28 GHz band was developed and demonstrated in May of 2013.

In October of 2014, for the first time in the industry’s history, Samsung Electronics took 5G technology out of the lab and demonstrated its use in a vehicle moving at 100 km/h

In 2014, a seamless data transmission speed of 1.2Gpbs was achieved during a demonstration held in a vehicle moving at 100 km/h. It was the time that 5G technology had reached Gbps-level speed in a mobile environment. When the vehicle was stationary, the speeds reached 7.5Gbps, which was another new record.

That was directly followed by the first successful demonstration of 5G handover technology, which has allowed Samsung to further accelerate 5G’s commercialization. Handover is regarded as a critical technology for networks as it signifies seamless coverage for smart devices when a user moves between base stations. In March of 2016, Samsung became the first in the industry to successfully accomplish a multi-cell handover demonstration by achieving Gbps-level connectivity while a vehicle moved across three 5G base stations at 25 km/h.

In September of 2017, Samsung demonstrated seamless connectivity with a vehicle traveling at over 200 km/h, as well as a successful handover with a vehicle moving at 192 km/h. These remarkable achievements proved that the application of 5G on high-speed trains was a feasible concept.

Around this time, Samsung also successfully proved the capabilities of a 4G-5G intertwined network that binds together three spectrums by linking a 4G LTE network that utilizes the 2.6 GHz band with a 5G network that uses the 28 GHz and 3.5 GHz bands. Interworking between different-generation networks is recognized in the industry as a prerequisite for fostering 5G commercialization.

Accelerating the 5G Era with Operators Worldwide

By nature, telecommunications service can only begin once an operator has acquired the rights to use a particular spectrum from its government and established infrastructure with its vendor. It is absolutely crucial that the service allows multiple users to simultaneously enjoy seamless connection anywhere and anytime. 5G commercialization is no exception to this rule; cooperation between operators, equipment vendors and device manufacturers is a must.

Samsung has been focusing on intensifying its technical and business bonds with operators in markets with advanced 5G adoption such as Korea, the US and Japan. The US is the first country to have acquired the 28 GHz spectrum, and it plans on launching FWA (fixed wireless access) service using 5G technology in the second half of this year. Samsung is in the midst of carrying out 5G trial services in key US cities together with Verizon and has already deployed 5G networks in seven of the eleven cities – Sacramento included – where Verizon provides its service. To add to the list are the 5G trials being carried out in Indiana with AT&T, as well as another with T-Mobile.

Korea is quickly gaining recognition as a testbed for the latest technologies. In September of 2017, together with the Korean telecommunications operator SK Telecom, Samsung successfully demonstrated, for the first time ever, how 4G and 5G networks can interwork with one another.

Japan has targeted the year 2020 for 5G commercialization, to coincide with a large-scale sporting event that will be held in Tokyo. Together with the country’s leading operator, NTT DOCOMO, Samsung successfully demonstrated the 5G technology in a vehicle traveling at high speed in November of 2016. With KDDI, another key operator in Japan, Samsung conducted a 5G demonstration on a Tokyo highway in February of last year. In December of the same year, the joint efforts extended into a 5G test held on a high-speed train.

Also collaborating with Samsung to accelerate 5G commercialization is the French operator Orange. Together with Korea Telecom and Verizon, Samsung has also established the specifications required for 5G trial services in Korea, as well as commercial FWA service in the U.S.

“Samsung has always been an active promoter of international cooperation with its 5G total solutions at the root,” said Wonil Roh, Vice President and Head of the Technology Strategy Group, Networks Business, Samsung Electronics. “These experiences are a validation of why operators worldwide find Samsung to be the most ideal partner for 5G network establishment.”

Samsung has made continuous advancements in connectivity technologies with the first commercial application of LTE technology in modems in 2009, first one-gigabit-per-second (Gbps) modem with 5CA (Carrier Aggregation) in 2016, and first 1.2Gbps modem with 6CA in 2017. With 1.2Gbps, the download of a two-hour-long HD movie on a mobile device can be completed in just ten seconds. This type of ongoing innovation in connectivity will serve as the foundation to bring people closer together through future applications such as the Internet of Things (IoT), automotive and so on.

Owing to the recent trends, demand for such connectivity capabilities in mobile devices have seen tremendous growth, and required a delicate combination with a device’s processing power. Samsung’s family of branded application processors (AP), the Exynos series, has demonstrated industry-leading performance in global flagship devices over the years. The family of APs was the first to introduce a slew of innovations in chipsets such as the big.LITTLE architecture and the 14- and 10-nanometer process technologies that have elevated our mobile experiences and equipped us to do more. In 2015, Exynos chipsets with connectivity functionalities finally became available in a single-chip solution, providing device manufacturers with more flexibility in design and efficiency.

While Samsung’s advancements in LTE technologies have paved the way to support carriers and smartphone manufacturers with voice calling features, the missing piece of the puzzle for us, in spite of Exynos’ proven track record, was CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access). Without the support of the major radio technology system used in mobile devices, we had limitations in providing our latest technology to certain regions that requires related network specifications.

As part of an effort to tighten our edge in connectivity offerings, we incorporated the modem development team previously at one of Samsung’s research centers, under the System LSI Business’ roof in 2014. The move paid off.

With the recent launch of Exynos 7872, the Exynos System-on-Chips (SoC) can currently support all six communication standards in the market (CDMA, GSM, TD-SCDMA, WCDMA, LTE-FDD, LTE-TDD) to meet the needs of devices across various segments. The added boost has naturally led to an active engagement with global mobile manufacturers that will allow more consumers to choose smart devices with the benefits of Exynos SoCs.

The possibilities and expectations for 5G excite us, and Exynos, armed with next-generation connectivity technologies, will continue to be a crucial part of this breakthrough moment. As we prepare for the major changes to come, Samsung plans to build on its development capabilities and expand collaboration with global partners to bring about powerful and connected SoC solutions for tomorrow.

Samsung Electronics, announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for joint development of common views on next generation 5G technologies with Japanese telecommunications operator, KDDI. The agreement sees the companies continue their more than decade long history of successful collaboration.

“Over the past 10 years, Samsung Electronics and KDDI have introduced the most advanced CDMA and LTE technologies to the Japanese market,” said DongSoo Park, Executive Vice President and Head of Research and Development team, Networks Business at Samsung. “We have worked together to drive innovation in 3G and 4G, and this track record of achievement makes us confident and excited about what we can provide in 5G era to end-users.”

“KDDI is committed to providing high-quality network performance and superior user experience to our customer,” said Yoshiaki Uchida, Managing Executive Officer, Technology Sector, Member of the Board at KDDI. “By continuing to work closely with Samsung, we will study the innovations in 5G that are needed to keep up with consumer demand for our mobile network.”

The partnership will help to increase speed of 5G development, with both companies leveraging their expertise in mobile network. The collaboration will focus on the research and validation of technologies most critical to the future of 5G. By focusing on the developments that will have the most impact first, both Samsung and KDDI will be prepared for next generation telecommunications.

Samsung continues to be actively engaged in a range of key global 5G research initiatives and leads multiple collaborative projects with its industrial partners, academic partners and operators around the world.

In particular, Samsung has played an important role as the chair of sub-working group for future IMT(5G) Vision in ITU-R WP5D, as well as a rapporteur on 3GPP 5G channel model SI for above 6 GHz. Samsung has also been leading and participating EU flagship 5G PPP projects of Horizon 2020.

About KDDI Corporation

KDDI, a comprehensive communications company offering fixed-line and mobile communications services, strives to be a leading company for changing times. For individual customers, KDDI offers its mobile communications (mobile phone) and fixed-line communications (broadband Internet/telephone) services under the brand name au, helping to realize Fixed Mobile and Broadcasting Convergence (FMBC). For business clients, KDDI provides comprehensive Information and Communications services, from Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) networks to data centers, applications, and security strategies, which helps clients strengthen their businesses. For more information please visit http://www.kddi.com/english.