The two companies verified the 5G Option 4 technology at the SKT R&D Center to achieve the equal data speed as the NSA, using 175MHz of bandwidth, and also completed the verification of SA’s specialized functions. For this commercial field trial, SKT used Samsung’s 5G SA Core, 5G radios and 4G radios, which are already deployed across SKT’s 5G commercial networks.

5G Option 4 is a more advanced option than the existing 5G Standalone mode (SA Option 2) and provides the equivalent level of speed and quality as the NSA while utilizing the specialized functions of the SA Option 2 such as network slicing and the evolved 5G Core network.

SA Option 4 helps operators deliver innovative services including Urban Air Mobility (UAM), automated vehicles, remote control for heavy equipment, remote control robots and more. Network slicing creates multiple virtual networks within a single physical network infrastructure, optimizing network resources to meet specific performance needs for various services.

“While we supported the launch of the world’s first commercial 5G services in Korea, we are excited to continue spearheading the advancement of 5G through 5G SA technology, which will power innovative 5G services by leveraging the world-class LTE network that is well established in Korea,” said Jong-Kwan Park, Vice President and Head of 5GX Technology Group at SKT. “We will continue to expand our collaboration with industry leaders to continue driving this advanced technology and in growing this 5G SA ecosystem, to demonstrate new ways to tap the full potential of next-generation networks.”

“Through this commercial trial, Samsung is proud to collaborate with SKT to achieve another milestone in advancing 5G SA technology, demonstrating the equal performance as NSA with 5G Option 4 technology in 5G SA mode,” said June Moon, Executive Vice President and Head of Technology Strategy, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “We look forward to continue collaborating with SKT for the development and commercialization of advanced 5G SA technology, to deliver market-leading services to consumers and diverse use cases across industry.”

While in the early stages of 5G, operators used E-UTRAN New Radio Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) technology to combine 5G and 4G networks in 5G NSA mode, and now with 5G SA, they can leverage SA Option 4, which is a more advanced dual connectivity technology.

This latest milestone is a result of Samsung and SKT’s continued commitment to developing cutting-edge network technologies that power innovative 5G use cases. As part of their ongoing collaboration, the companies have successfully completed the EN-DC test in 2019, following the world’s first 5G Next-Generation Core (5G NC) trial in June 2018. In March 2021, SKT began delivering 5G SA commercial services to private networks using Samsung’s advanced 5G end-to-end solutions. In a collaborative effort, the companies will continue delivering advanced network services to mobile users in Korea.

Visit SK Telecom’s booth at MWC Barcelona 2022 for this Option 4 (NE-DC) demonstration and more.

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.

About SK Telecom

SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) is Korea’s leading ICT company, driving innovations in fixed & wireless telecommunications, AI service, and digital infrastructure service. Armed with cutting-edge ICT including AI and 5G, the company is ushering in a new level of convergence to deliver unprecedented value to customers. As the global 5G pioneer, SKT is committed to realizing the full potential of 5G through ground-breaking services that can improve people’s lives, transform businesses, and lead to a better society.

SKT boasts unrivaled leadership in the Korean mobile market with over 30 million subscribers, which account for nearly 50 percent of the market.

For more information, please contact skt_press@sk.com or visit our LinkedIn page www.linkedin.com/company/sk-telecom.

The demonstration leveraged E-UTRAN New Radio Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) technology combining 40MHz of 4G frequency and 100MHz of 5G frequency on the C-Band spectrum. Through the dual connectivity approach, Samsung achieved 2.25Gbps overall on a single user device. For the demonstration, Samsung used its latest virtualized RAN, C-Band 64T64R Massive MIMO radio, and cloud-native 5G Core. Samsung’s vRAN, which is already in use providing services on low-band spectrum in the U.S., proved its capability to support Massive MIMO radios through this achievement.

“By combining our true vRAN solution and powerful C-Band 64T64R Massive MIMO radio for the first time in the industry, Samsung achieved a significant breakthrough, increasing the throughput ten-fold, improving user experience and showing our leadership in virtualized technology,” said Junehee Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of R&D, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “This milestone is a result of Samsung’s ongoing efforts in 5G innovation, backed by global commercialization experience, and we aim to continue driving R&D efforts to help mobile operators deliver pioneering solutions.”

Samsung’s vRAN solution enables mobile operators to bring greater flexibility, scalability, and resource efficiency in network management with various spectrums in Time Division Duplex(TDD) and Frequency Division Duplex(FDD). Today’s solution is significant as it demonstrates how the company’s vRAN delivers performance parity with traditional hardware-based equipment, while covering spectrum from low-band to mid-band, and supporting both outdoor and indoor radio solutions for both carrier and private networks.

“Operators consistently tell us that RAN virtualization is a priority as they look to accelerate their 5G network and service deployments,” said Peter Jarich, Head of GSMA Intelligence. “Samsung’s latest demonstrations will be well-received, signaling that 5G vRAN is a viable option, achieving performance on par with purpose-built hardware.”

Samsung recently announced its complete C-Band solutions portfolio, including macro and micro radios, indoor solutions, network optimization tools as well as C-Band Massive MIMO radio which has already been commercially shipped to the U.S. The company’s 5G vRAN solution was rolled out last year, delivering the industry’s first wide-scale commercialization of a fully virtualized 5G network solution.

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.

In a demonstration carried out in Samsung’s lab in Korea, the company successfully combined 40MHz of 4G frequency and 800MHz of 5G frequency in mmWave, achieving 5.23Gbps in data speeds to a single device. For the demonstration, Samsung used its commercial end-to-end solutions comprised of devices and network products. This includes the Samsung Galaxy S20+ smartphone, 4G radios, 5G radios (Compact Macro Link), and 4G/5G common Core (Link).

The demo used EN-DC technology, which enables operators to combine 4G and 5G to maximize the benefits of both networks, and deliver enhanced speeds, coverage and reliability. It also leveraged carrier aggregation which combines multiple channels of spectrum to gain greater efficiencies and boost data speeds over a wireless network. The successful demonstration provides a blueprint for delivering a rapid, stable and effective path to 5G service.

“Through this demonstration, Samsung is proud to achieve another breakthrough record in 5G data speeds, now spotlighting the power of using a dual 4G and 5G approach, delivered directly to a single user,” said Ji-Yun Seol, Vice President, and Head of Air Technology Group, Networks Business at Samsung. “This reinforces our commitment to delivering the best possible 5G solutions to our customers and our ongoing support to help mobile operators accelerate the benefits of 5G services to their users.”

This achievement is based on Samsung’s years of 5G research and the company’s strong commitment to enhance network experiences for every user. In 2018, Samsung began to show 5G’s capabilities with one of the first multi-gigabit 5G New Radio (NR) data connections with speeds of more than 1.7Gbps (Link). In 2019, Samsung surpassed its record by reaching data speeds of 2.65Gbps (Link), which was followed by 4.3Gbps (Link) speeds in a 2020 demo. Today, attaining data speeds of 5.23Gbps, Samsung passes another barrier, using a flexible new approach in EN-DC technology.

“Mobile operators need to make the most of their finite spectrum assets in order to ensure user experiences that deliver the full value of 5G,” remarked Ed Gubbins, Principal Analyst at GlobalData. “This achievement showcases Samsung’s distinguishing ability to leverage an end-to-end portfolio and broad expertise that spans core, RAN and devices to help operators maximize the return on their 5G investments.”

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 marketing-leading product portfolio from fully virtualized RAN and Core to private network solutions and AI-powered automation tools. The company is currently providing connectivity to hundreds of millions of users around the world.