“For Samsung, we see the user experience as a key element to drive further innovation in the LTE market. We also believe that now is the most appropriate time to lay out our vision for the next generation network architecture,” said Youngky Kim, President and Head of the Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “Our innovative spirit has brought yet another opportunity to leap forward, by enabling new markets and services that enhance our daily lives such as autonomous vehicles and holographic communications.”

User Experience-centric Solutions & Software-centric Solutions

Samsung sees user experience as the critical element to drive innovation in network performance. In alignment with this, Samsung will be presenting automated solutions such as Voice Measurement and Analysis (VoMA), Data Measurement and Analysis (DMA), Antenna Tilt Optimization (ATO), Transmit Power Controlling (TPC) and the 3D network design tool. These solutions monitor and dimension network quality and user experience, in real-time, for enhancing the user experience.

Samsung’s vision is to drive the transformation of the current network architecture to one that is software-centric. A software-centric network is open-source based, establishes an automated network platform, and realizes new services and functions as Virtualized Network Functions (VNFs). This virtualized platform enables operators to adopt new services faster and in a more seamless manner. Furthermore, this unified network platform allows for simple, flexible and cost-effective network management as it supports the Samsung 4G and 5G vRAN and vCore as well as the functions of the existing legacy equipment.

Massive MIMO Solutions

To improve the efficiency of operators’ existing spectrums, Samsung is introducing the Samsung Massive MIMO Access Unit (MAU) based on advanced three-dimensional beamforming technology. Samsung will provide products fit for different environments with support for diverse frequency bands that can later be applied for 5G. As part of the exhibit, Samsung will demonstrate 24 mobile devices connected to a live 64T64R 2.5GHz massive MIMO radio and producing a total cell throughput of over 1Gbps.

Latest Small Cell Technologies

To cope with indoor coverage and traffic in the most effective way, including cost, there has been a noticeable increase in interest and discussions around small cell solutions across the industry.

Samsung is spotlighting its latest small cell portfolio for home, enterprise, and outdoor environments. This also includes spectrums and technologies, like CBRS, LAA and WiFi, that cover LTE licensed as well as unlicensed.

5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) Commercialization and Beyond

Using the complete 5G end-to-end solution announced earlier this year at 2017 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Samsung will be demonstrating, live, the deployment process and actual 5G FWA service being deployed in consumer homes as part of an active U.S. Tier 1 operator trial. Visitors will be able to experience – via Samsung Gear VR – a live 360- degree camera view of an apartment powered by 5G FWA service. With 5G FWA commercialization expected in the U.S. in 2018, Samsung will highlight the next wave of 5G use cases such as consumer mobility in sub-6GHz spectrum and 5G-powered autonomous vehicles.

The Samsung Networks booth is located at the South Hall Stand S.616 in the Moscone Center at MWC Americas 2017 and is available on a reservation-only basis. If you are interested in learning more about Samsung Networks presence at MWC Americas or would like to see one of the demonstrations listed above, please contact Jonathan Varman at j.varman@sea.samsung.com.

For more information on this press release and other Samsung announcements, please visit news.samsung.com/global.

· Samsung introduced its C-RAN2.0 solution, an enhanced Centralized RAN (C-RAN) platform, designed for radio performance enhancement as well as additional cost savings for operators.

Samsung Introduces C-RAN2.0 Solution
to Enhance LTE Network Performance

Brings significant advancements to radio capacity management and network performance

Samsung Electronics, a leading provider of mobile broadband networking solutions, announced its C-RAN2.0 solution — an enhanced Centralized RAN (C-RAN) platform designed for radio performance enhancement as well as additional cost savings for operators.

C-RAN2.0 builds upon Samsung’s successful C-RAN solution which relocates baseband units (BBUs) – the equipment used to process transmission signals – from each base station to one or more centralized locations. Major two new innovations of C-RAN2.0 are baseband capacity pooling and baseband clustering

Baseband pooling represents a new line of defense against data spikes that are often the result of large gatherings, such as concerts, festivals or sporting events. It works by allowing the network to efficiently aggregate its baseband resources across a large cluster of cells and introducing dynamic capacity management.

This is made possible by Samsung’s newly developed C-RAN switch, which enables dynamic routing of traffic between cell sites (remote radio units) and the centralized BBUs. The C-RAN switch also provides significant energy savings by de-activating BBUs during times of low network load. As a result, it brings critical value to operators in terms of network reactivity, flexibility and scalability.

The second new innovation, baseband clustering, enables very fast and efficient coordination between BBUs, improving cell edge performance and facilitating the introduction of advanced scheduling features, such as coordinated multi-point (CoMP) and inter-site carrier aggregation.

In a typical network with carrier aggregation, a user device can connect to multiple frequencies, or carriers, but only from a single cell site. In many situations, however, the coverage patterns and signal propagation of these frequencies may be different, potentially leading to sub-par performance. C-RAN2.0’s baseband clustering enables Samsung’s Best Cell Aggregation feature, which allows a user device to select the best signals available, even across multiple cell sites. For users, this results in a more consistent mobile experience as they move through the network.

“Samsung’s C-RAN2.0 is well-suited for city deployments where there are constraints in site procurement despite continuing demand for improved network coverage and performance,” Joonho Park, Senior Vice President and head of Global Sales & Marketing, Networks Business. “In these situations, densification is a high priority, and C-RAN is optimally designed to enable rapid deployment with a significantly smaller footprint that a traditional distributed base station. C-RAN2.0 adds another level to this by introducing significant and competitive capability enhancements to the C-RAN architecture.”

Key highlights of Samsung’s CRAN2.0 Solution for LTE

C-RAN2.0 provides the following benefits to the mobile operator:

• The centralized BBU site configuration results in operational benefits from easy and convenient maintenance, fewer site visits and maximal utilization of high-capacity BBUs
• For cell sites, a simplified deployment (RU and antenna only, without BBU and cabinet) generates OPEX savings due to reduced site leasing costs and lower power requirements over a smaller footprint
• C-RAN2.0 facilitates resource sharing and expandability via BBU pooling, making it possible to enhance system reliability and radio resource management
• Baseband pooling provides TCO savings through greater network efficiency in capacity utilization where resources can be dynamically allocated to areas with high traffic requirements; this is also useful for high traffic events where large crowds gather in tight areas, traditionally causing traffic congestion
• C-RAN2.0 provides additional enhancements to key performance features such as carrier aggregation, with improvement to cell edge throughput of up to 50%

* All functionality, features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.