Samsung Electronics America today announced that their 5G-ready massive MIMO solutions on Sprint’s 2.5 GHz TDD-LTE network are now in commercial service. As part of Sprint’s network, Samsung’s massive MIMO solutions deliver improved 4G LTE throughput and capacity to Sprint’s subscribers. Additionally, this helps provide Sprint with a seamless upgrade path to 5G New Radio (NR), utilizing the carrier’s deep 2.5 GHz spectrum.

In February 2018, Sprint announced its selection of Samsung as a massive MIMO provider for their future 5G mobile network launch in the U.S., an important milestone for the carrier. Samsung’s massive MIMO can provide a way for operators to inject new capacity into their network without having to purchase more spectrum or add new base stations. It is being used by Sprint to significantly boost LTE network speeds and capacity for millions of U.S. customers, while improving network efficiencies through advanced beam-forming. 

“We are excited to see Samsung MIMO solutions in use on Sprint’s current LTE commercial network, which will help their customers experience the full benefits of network innovation,” said Lyle Nyffeler, Vice President, Networks Division, Samsung Electronics America. “Our MIMO solutions are engineered to maximize 4G networks today, while offering a graceful, seamless path to a 5G future.”

In addition to delivering substantial capacity gains using the same amount of spectrum, Samsung’s MIMO solution offers a seamless path through split mode, enabling deployment of 4G and 5G NR on the same radio, without any hardware changes. The massive MIMO implementation also includes the Samsung CDU 30, a higher capacity digital unit and software that enables gigabit level speeds while supporting eMTC and NB-IoT.

“Massive MIMO is a powerful technology that enables us to dramatically increase our LTE capacity and data speeds, giving customers in dense urban locations an even better mobile experience,” said Jay Bluhm, Vice President of Network Development and Engineering, Sprint. “We’re also excited to collaborate with Samsung on 5G and enable a whole new level of immersive mobile services.”

For further information on Samsung and Sprint’s massive MIMO trial, please visit here.

5G NC operates independently of the LTE network and makes new features available. 5G NC was developed with a new service-based architecture that introduces software features, such as Control and User Planes Separation, Network Slicing and Virtualized Network Functions (VNF) deployed on containers, the latest in virtualization technology. This is the first trial of 5G NC in the world that implements VNFs based on 3GPP standards-compliant, service-based architecture.

As diverse services with complex requirements continue to emerge, the new 5G NC is able to identify service types and process the traffic accordingly. For example, the transmission of sensitive financial and biometric information can be protected through advanced security functions, such as quantum cryptography. In addition, ultra-high-resolution images can be transmitted faster, while ultra-low latency can be guaranteed for telemedicine.

Moving beyond proprietary technologies, the 5G NC control plane includes the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) international standard, which has been newly adopted by 3GPP. HTTP enables a seamless connection between the core network and web-based services and allows third parties such as start-ups to create new 5G services easily. As a result, they can provide an optimal service to customers, leveraging network-related information, such as location and data, throughout.

5G NC is also characterized by its ability to guarantee both operational stability and unprecedented user experience. This is achieved by automatically selecting the best path between device and internet and by adding intelligent automatic management to restore the network instantaneously if issues occur.

“Based on this trial, SK Telecom has successfully verified the essential core network technologies for 5G commercialization,” said Park Jin-hyo, Executive Vice President and Head of ICT R&D Center at SK Telecom. “We will continue to enhance our technology development to enable truly innovative 5G services.”

“The completion of 5G NC with SK Telecom is a significant step towards 5G commercialization,” said Paul Kyungwhoon Cheun, Executive Vice President and Head of R&D, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “The tests have shown how fast, flexible, efficient and user-centric the network can become with Next-Generation Core.”

SK Telecom and Samsung have jointly submitted more than 30 5G NC contributions to 3GPP standardization, and have completed several 5G NC proof-of-concept activities. The two companies are collaborating to develop and verify 5G NC solutions, expected to be deployed in 2019.

In February 2017, as part of its broader commercial 5G portfolio Samsung Electronics announced the readiness of its NC solution and a library of 5G VNFs. The solution has since been upgraded to integrate new features defined in the 3GPP standards Release-15. It supports both 4G and 5G core functions.

This is the fourth time an employee of Samsung received the prestigious award. On this occasion, it was presented to Aris Papasakellariou, a Senior Director of Standards at Samsung Research America, in recognition of his contributions in the field of radio access technology for 5G.

Each year, the award is presented to four individuals who have made outstanding technical contributions to the development of next generation mobile broadband standards in 3GPP. An estimated 1,500 researchers are participating in the 3GPP working group.

“Beyond an individual recognition, this is a validation of the proactive participation taken by Samsung in bringing about future network standards,” said Aris Papasakellariou. “Samsung’s team of engineers will continue its contribution to mobile broadband standardizations and help provide the platform for 3GPP NR (New Radio) and 5G connectivity.”

Samsung has made big strides to making 5G a reality, unveiling the world’s first 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) commercial solutions at MWC 2018 while announcing its collaboration with global network providers. Samsung was selected to supply Verizon with commercial 5G FWA network solutions. The two companies will begin by launching commercial 5G services in Sacramento, California in the second half of 2018. Samsung is collaborating with Charter Communications on 5G trials in the U.S. while Sprint announced that it would deploy Samsung’s 5G solutions to increase Gigabit speeds and capacity.

It has not been long since Jio brought a radical digital revolution to India. Now, the company is ready to pave the way for a fully digital India, in which IoT will reach every corner of the country’s society and economy. The IoT network, the first of its kind in the country, will support a variety of consumer and enterprise use cases such as vehicle tracking, smart appliances, smart metering, security, surveillance and more.

“Making sure that everyone benefits from mobile broadband that is both available and affordable to all is our top priority. We will once again partner with Samsung to offer a suite of innovative services for all users,” said Jyotindra Thacker, President of Reliance Jio Infocomm.

“We are delighted to contribute to Jio’s success story and rapid growth. We have been striving to offer the best experience possible to all users at Jio. Jio’s LTE network will unlock the potential of IoT and promise a much more convenient and safe environment for users,” said Youngky Kim, President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics.

The NB-IoT service not only utilizes the existing spectrum held by Jio, but is also enabled by a simple software upgrade of the already installed base stations. Further deployed is the new and dedicated Cellular IoT virtualized core. The commercial NB-IoT network successfully established by Jio and Samsung in Mumbai in February 2018 will soon impact other parts of the country with new and compelling use cases.

The agreement represents another phase of collaboration between the two companies, in which the targeted outcomes are faster internet access for users across India, as well as the generation of unexplored services and business models for enterprises.

About Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited:

Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (“Jio”), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (“RIL”), has built a world-class all-IP data strong future proof network with latest 4G LTE technology. It is the only network conceived and born as a Mobile Video Network from the ground up and supporting Voice over LTE technology. It is future ready and can be easily upgraded to support even more data, as technologies advance on to 5G, 6G and beyond.

Jio will bring transformational changes in the Indian digital services space to enable the vision of Digital India for 1.2 billion Indians and propel India into global leadership in digital economy. It has created an eco-system comprising network, devices, applications and content, service experience and affordable tariffs for everyone to live the Jio Digital Life. As part of its customer offers, Jio has revolutionized the Indian telecom landscape by making voice calls for Jio customers absolutely free, across India, to any network, and always. Jio makes India the highest quality, most affordable data market in the world so that every Indian can do Datagiri.

“At MWC 2018, Samsung plans to show how our homes, cars and cities can be transformed by building user-centric 5G networks” said Youngky Kim, President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “Since the beginning of our 5G research in 2012, Samsung stood firm among industry players to trust in the potentials of the millimeter wave spectrum. Our efforts towards advancing this technology will see the light this year, making 5G a reality and opening up new territories’ possibilities for consumers, operators and enterprises.”

Samsung has developed the world’s first complete commercial 5G FWA solutions, which includes: commercial form-factor 5G home routers (CPEs) for both indoors and outdoors, 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) comprised of a radio access unit and virtualized RAN, a next-generation core, as well as AI-powered 3D radio frequency planning tools and services. Using in-house technology and assets, Samsung has managed to develop the first commercial ASIC-based 5G modems and mmWave RFICs, enabling the design of compact access units and CPEs.

These products have already been proven through months of field trials in multiple markets. On February 23rd, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted authorization of Samsung’s 5G access units. These are the first 5G millimeter-wave products in the world to secure government regulatory approval—a milestone achieved through close collaboration with the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology.

The solutions will be deployed in the first commercial 5G network to be launched in 2018 in the U.S. For more details, refer to Verizon Selects Samsung for 5G Commercial Launch.

Samsung will also present its first 3GPP Release 15-compliant 5G NR products supporting spectrum bands both below and above 6GHz, to be made available in 2018.

5G-powered Smart Cities

The solutions will enable 5G connectivity for deployments covering a broad range of use cases, greatly enhancing an operator’s ability to explore various business cases and scenarios. A demonstration of a 5G-powered smart city at Samsung’s MWC booth will showcase the difference next-generation technology can bring to streets and transportation, so they are much safer and more convenient. Other demonstrations that illustrate how 5G will work in homes, stadiums, cars and trains are also planned to be presented at the booth.

Other Samsung solutions to be presented will include new LTE radio units and massive MIMO solutions, cloud platform, user-centric network optimization tools as well as services tailored to operators and enterprises’ specific needs.

Samsung Networks’ booth at MWC is located at the Exhibit Hall 2 Stand 2M20 in Fira Gran Via, and will be open from February 26th to March 1st, 2018. To learn more about MWC 2018, please visit www.mobileworldcongress.com.

“At Samsung, we believe that enterprises can provide employees and customers with telco-grade mobile connectivity within their facility through the use of private LTE networks built with MulteFire,” said Imran Akbar, Vice President and General Manager for Wireless Enterprise Business at Samsung Electronics America. “We are committed to contributing to industry ecosystems that are small cell-centric as an important part of our strategy, and we look forward to collaborating with Alliance members as we bring MulteFire to the global market.”

MulteFire is an LTE-based technology for small cells operating in solely unlicensed and shared spectrum without the need of a licensed spectrum anchor, and is designed to fairly co-exist with other wireless transmission technologies and improving spectrum management. On top of the elimination of customers’ concerns to acquire licensed spectrum, qualities such as LTE-level performance and Wi-Fi-like deployment simplicity make the technology a highly attractive option.

MulteFire broadens the LTE opportunities to serve new and existing service providers, including internet service providers, cable operators and neutral hosts. It also empowers enterprises of all sizes – such as a construction company or manufacturing facility – to take advantage of mobile connectivity.

Furthermore, a MulteFire network can delivers enhanced coverage, improved capacity, seamless mobility and a future-proof technology for self-organizing, hyper-dense small cell deployments, leveraging robust wireless connectivity for an enterprise’s desired areas/coverage. It powers everything from push-to-talk and cellular voice services to Internet of Things (IoT) and data applications for worker safety.

“Samsung recognizes the importance of small cell development and the influence that organizations such as the MulteFire Alliance can have to encourage innovation,” said Mazen Chmaytelli, President, MulteFire Alliance and Sr. Director Business Development, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “We are excited to have the company join us as we support the industry’s efforts to bring MulteFire products to market in the near future and enable new deployments such as private networks for the industrial IoT.”

As a pioneer in small cell technology, Samsung is a leader in deploying products and services with global operators to redefine wireless connectivity. By joining forces with various alliances, including MulteFire Alliance, and broadening interactions with industry players, Samsung plans to continue to develop solutions that will enable enterprises to take direct advantage of LTE-based technologies around the world.

To join the MulteFire Alliance or for more information, visit www.MulteFire.org.

About MulteFire Alliance
The MulteFire Alliance is an international association dedicated to building a global ecosystem in support of the common interests of members, developers and users in the application of Long Term Evolution (LTE) and next generation mobile cellular technology in configurations that use only unlicensed and shared radio spectrum. For more information about MulteFire technology, its benefits how to become a member of the MulteFire Alliance, please visit www.MulteFire.org.

Source: US Newsroom

Earlier this year, the Samsung Exynos 9 Series (8895) SoC presented its Cat.16 LTE modem with 1.0 gigabit (Gb) downlink speed and the industry’s first 5CA support. By working closely with Anritsu, a telecommunication measuring instrument provider, Samsung’s new Cat.18 6CA-supported LTE modem technology achieves up to 1.2 Gbps downlink speed. The 20-percent improvement in maximum downlink speed can allow mobile device users to download a full-length movie in HD resolution within 10 seconds. Users will also be able to enjoy buffer-less video calls and mobile live-broadcasting.

Carrier aggregation (CA) combines a given number of component carriers with various bandwidths, improving data transfer rates and network performance. By increasing the aggregation capability from the previous model’s five bandwidths to six, the new LTE modem technology will offer faster yet more stable data transfers. Furthermore, the technology supports 4×4 MIMO (Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output) and higher-order 256 QAM (Quadrature amplitude modulation) scheme to maximize the data transfer rate. By utilizing enhanced Licensed-Assisted Access (eLAA) that can aggregate licensed and unlicensed spectra, the technology also allows telecommunications operators to make fuller use of their equipment.

“With the increase of high-quality online content services, the demand for high-performance LTE modems continue to rise as well,” said Woonhaing Hur, Vice President of System LSI Protocol Development at Samsung Electronics. “The 1.2Gbps maximum downlink speed with 6CA support highlights Samsung’s leading design capabilities and well-positions Samsung for the upcoming 5G era.”

Samsung’s mobile processor adopting the new Cat.18 6CA-supported LTE modem technology is expected to be in mass production by the end of this year.

Samsung Electronics announced that its LTE-Railway (LTE-R) solution successfully launched its official service today on the 41km-long Busan Metro line 1 that covers 40 stations in the region. This is nation’s first case of the LTE-R technology being used during operation of a train/metro.

The Busan Transportation Corporation(BTS), SK Telecom and Samsung collaborated to replace the existing analogue wireless technology used for mission critical railway operations with the new LTE-R solution. The parties have been testing the newly adopted communication systems since February for final safety checkup. The test drive also included an interoperability test between onboard equipment on the metro and the LTE-R mobile device installed on the railway/train.

LTE-R was developed for the next-generation of mission-critical communication which is essential for railway operation and maintenance. What sets 4G based LTE-R apart from the incumbent analogue or 2G GSM based technologies is that it can provide stable multimedia services. Compared to the one-to-one voice call service between the control center, station employee, and the train engineer that has been available so far, LTE-R technology enables multimedia-based group call/SMS services on top of the voice call service.

The technology better equips rail operators in case of an accident because it transmits real-time video of the station to the central control center. Additionally, real-time group/individual communication is made possible between the train engineer and control center. The technology can also be used for mission critical communication that depends on high speed, security and stability because it is based on LTE technology, which carries features such as latency as low as 10ms and QoS management support.

“SK Telecom has successfully replaced legacy analogue communications network into a multimedia capable LTE railway network which transforms operation procedure more intuitive and efficient,” Said Il-gyu Choi, Senior Vice President and Head of Public Business Office of SK Telecom. “With the experience for more than 30 years, SK Telecom will further extend its expertise into public safety areas.”

“Reliability and stability are critical because they are directly tied to public safety. Today’s launch of the Samsung LTE-R solution with BTS and SK Telecom is a huge milestone for the industry,” said Jinsoo Jeong, Senior Vice President and Head of Domestic Business Marketing in Networks Business, Samsung Electronics. “As a leading LTE-R solution provider, we enable fast and reliable communication on high-speed trains capable of speeds as high as 300km/h, which is expected to be started early next year.”

Selected as a supplier for all five LTE-R projects in Korea since 2015, Samsung is Korea’s leading LTE-R supplier. The Korean government plans to increase the distance that the LTE-R project covers to roughly 5,600km by 2025.

In January 2016, Samsung was selected as an end-to-end solution provider for the Korean government’s PS-LTE project, which includes virtualized core solutions, radio access systems and rugged-smartphones. With these successes, Samsung is leading the integration of PS-LTE, LTE-R and LTE-Marine. Samsung also actively participates in interoperability tests to ensure seamless operation between analogue technologies such as TRS-ASTRO, TRS-TETRA, VHF and LTE-R, as well as PS-LTE.

About SK Telecom

Established in 1984, SK Telecom is the largest mobile operator in Korea by both revenue and number of subscribers. As of December 2016, the company holds around 50 percent of the market, with 29.60 million mobile subscribers including 21.1 million LTE subscribers. It has reached KRW 17.092 trillion in revenue in 2016. SK Telecom has led the advancement of mobile technologies ranging from 2G to 4G, and is currently setting important milestones in its journey to 5G. The company is not only leading innovation in the field of mobile network, but also providing IoT, media, home and platform services. SK Telecom is determined to play a significant role in the Fourth Industrial Revolution by achieving innovations and promoting shared growth with other players in the industry.

The project sets a high benchmark for LTE services in India through wider coverage, in-building penetration and the highest speeds, regardless of the user’s location. Utilizing spectrum in the 850, 1800 and 2300MHz bands, it will enable seamless indoor and outdoor coverage in dense urban areas. The project will also extend Jio’s superiority in rural areas by expanding its reach to over 90% of the population.

Previously, Samsung provided the LTE core, base stations and solutions required for VoLTE services, as well as massive deployment services for establishing a nationwide network for Jio. The two companies have successfully established the world’s largest greenfield LTE network.

“I am excited to announce our new project with Samsung,” said Jyotindra Thacker, President of Reliance Jio Infocomm. “We successfully achieved 100 million subscribers in 170 days, making us the fastest-growing company in the world, and the numbers continue to rapidly grow. It was possible because we introduced a truly effective LTE service, Pan-India. We are committed to bringing game-changing digital experiences to India with superior ecosystems, mobile content, all-IP networks and ongoing process innovations.”

“As Jio’s end-to-end LTE solutions partner, it is a great pleasure for Samsung to contribute to Jio’s tremendous success,” said Youngky Kim, President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “The massive deployment of over a million cells across India is especially remarkable. We will strive to create new paradigms for LTE-Advanced Pro and 5G by closely cooperating with Jio as a unified workforce.”

Jio stands as an innovator which transformed the telecommunications sector in India last year. The company has already established itself as the leading data service provider in the country within a few months of commencing operations. It was also India’s first operator to introduce free-of-charge High Definition calls (VoLTE). This is especially notable, as this approach is now becoming a new market rule in India.

Samsung, as Jio’s strategic partner, has established a foundation for Indians to enjoy exclusive services, including voice calls, with data as their engine. It has also gone a step further, enabling Jio to offer a superior service to its users by providing professional solutions such as Samsung VoLTE, Quality Monitoring and Analysis (VoMA) and Cognitive Traffic Monitoring and Optimizer for a superior user experience. Further, it was through Samsung’s VoMA that the steady management of high traffic in data-dense environments was enabled. The tools monitor and optimize mobile data services, and have successfully contributed to enabling Jio to provide its subscribers with a stable and improved user experience.

The relationship between Jio and Samsung goes back to 2012, when the two companies signed a turn-key agreement covering the entire scope of network, ranging from equipment to establishment and maintenance services.

Further insights will be announced at Jio and Samsung’s joint press conference on February 28 at MWC 2017.

About Jio

Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (“Jio”), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (“RIL”), has built a world-class all-IP data strong future proof network with latest 4G LTE technology. It is the only network conceived and born as a Mobile Video Network from the ground up and supporting Voice over LTE technology. It is future ready and can be easily upgraded to support even more data, as technologies advance on to 5G, 6G and beyond.

Jio will bring transformational changes in the Indian digital services space to enable the vision of Digital India for 1.2 billion Indians and propel India into global leadership in digital economy. It has created an eco-system comprising network, devices, applications and content, service experience and affordable tariffs for everyone to live the Jio Digital Life. As part of its customer offers, Jio has revolutionized the Indian telecom landscape by making voice calls for Jio customers absolutely free, across India, to any network, and always. Jio makes India the highest quality, most affordable data market in the world so that every Indian can do Datagiri.

At a press conference held at the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya today, Samsung Electronics unveiled its end-to-end portfolio of 5G mobile network products and solutions for 2017. Showcased products included consumer devices for fixed wireless access connectivity, a 5G Radio Base Station (5G Access Unit), Next-Generation Core Network infrastructure and more. With pre-commercial versions of the equipment already under deployment in trial networks across the globe, Samsung’s commercial 5G portfolio is backed by a continually growing foundation of experience, knowledge and concrete trial results.

“Samsung has been focused on 5G R&D for nearly half a decade, and this portfolio launch represents the culmination of a lot of hard work and industry engagement,” said Paul Kyungwhoon Cheun, Executive Vice President and Head of Next Generation Communications Business Team at Samsung Electronics. “With pre-commercial deployment of our 5G products already underway in the US, we’re starting to see some of the earliest evidence of the potential for new and compelling 5G-driven services – it will be exciting to see it evolve as we move forward on our roadmap.”

At the Network Edge

While Samsung has been a long-time vendor of 3G and LTE home femto products, Samsung’s compact 5G Home Router (Customer Premise Equipment, or CPE) represents exploration of new territory – from extending the mobile network towards planting a new fixed wireless network. The 5G Home Router will provide direct and straightforward connectivity to the wireless network, with the simple placement of the 5G Home Router in a window facing a nearby 5G Radio Base Station. A peak data rate of up to 1Gbps will allow service providers to dimension networks that provide an attractive alternative to often-costly FTTH deployments.

The 5G Radio Base Station itself is a natural extension of today’s LTE small cells, designed to be installed in a dense configuration that allows for very high network capacities. The system supports 28GHz mmWave spectrum – a common frequency in leading 5G markets – and is capable of providing up to 10Gbps among devices within its coverage range. With an emphasis on compact size and easy installation, Samsung aims to make 5G network deployments less resource-intensive compared to today’s LTE small cell deployments.

A Fully Virtualized Core Network

As the centralized point of control and direction for network traffic, the core network plays a critical role, and Samsung’s Next-Generation Core Network infrastructure provides a significant leap in performance and flexibility in line with the requirements and demands of emerging connectivity use cases. With a shift to a software-driven architecture, the virtualized core gains the ability to flexibly split network resources, and even individual network functions, in order to maintain peak operational efficiencies. One example of this is the ability to allow data-heavy internet-bound traffic to exit the service provider’s network closer to the user, reducing the potential for congestion within the operator’s network, while potentially improving service responsiveness for users.

Network-wide Management Capabilities

The shift towards a virtualized, or software-driven, network architecture brings a greater degree of complexity in managing the various systems as well as the highly dynamic configuration and traffic routing potential. By leveraging similarly powerful Maintenance and Operation (MANO) systems, as well as localized virtual Element Management Systems (EMS), Samsung can ensure that each component of the network is running at peak efficiency, and in full coordination with the network overall. The network management systems are designed to handle the complexities of next-generation architectures while providing network operations staff with intuitive controls to manage and fine-tune service delivery and network performance.

From Here to Commercial Launch

With pre-commercial versions of these products and solutions already under deployment with operators in the US, Korea and Japan, Samsung’s 5G product portfolio represents the final leg of the journey towards industry 5G adoption. Leveraging additional experience from trials planned for 2017, Samsung’s 5G products will drive the first wave of commercial 5G deployments and will help to ensure a successful and smooth introduction of entirely new services and use cases as the mobile industry ushers in a new era of connectivity. Going forward, Samsung will focus on extending its 5G portfolio with support for Below 6GHz 5G connectivity. Adopting 3GPP Release-15 specifications is another priority, and Samsung’s 5G portfolio is designed to be upgradable to 3GPP standards as they are finalized.

Samsung also showcased the launch of a its 5G RFIC and ASIC modem chipsets that will power the next generation of 5G network infrastructure, including Samsung’s 5G Home Router and 5G Radio Base Station products – more details on the showcase can be found here.

The companies plan for a NB-IoT base station upgrade and virtualized Core deployment which will be followed by a commercial nationwide network launch by the second quarter of this year.

NB-IoT, with its ability to make use of the existing 4G LTE infrastructure including the base station and antenna, is a huge benefit as this means that the time required for establishment can be greatly reduced. It also means that the coverage of areas that were covered by 4G LTE network can be guaranteed. Further, with repeaters being deployed at coverage holes such as mountainous regions, and underground spaces, IoT service will be available anywhere LTE service is provided.

“The commercialization of NB-IoT will expand boundaries in the world of IoT, enabling us to position ourselves at the forefront in the IoT market.”, said June Keun Kim, Senior Vice President and Giga IoT Business Unit Leader of KT. “We aim to discover business models across business fields, one of the main examples being the KT-developed life jacket that protects users by communicating with surrounding objects in urgent situations during mountain climbing. This type of discovery and development, in essence, will introduce a new set of values to our customers.”

“NB-IoT is a technology that enables the communication between objects, given that LTE is available in the area. It will allow customers to enjoy IoT services regardless of their location, including mountainous regions or in-building areas,” said Jinsoo Jeong, Senior Vice President and Head of Domestic Business Marketing in Network Business, Samsung Electronics. “Samsung, as KT’s strategic partner for the commercialization of NB-IoT, is pleased to be able to partake in the process of forming a ‘connected world’ that will truly connect people and objects together.”

NB-IoT, in contrast with 4G LTE that utilizes bandwidth of 10~20MHz at a time, uses a narrow bandwidth of 200KHz. This essentially means that the technology is suitable for cases that demand low throughput and low use of device’s battery, with electricity/water supply inspection and location tracking being some of the main examples of appropriate use case. It is expected that the technology will generate a myriad of business opportunities by blurring lines across industries, as can be seen with the development of smart irrigation system designed to provide an unprecedented level of accuracy in the monitoring and managing of farming sites.

Right now, the entire telecommunications industry is preparing to usher in the era of 5G, which will surpass the current mainstream technology, 4G. Samsung Electronics has led in developing these innovative 4G technologies in the markets with the highest LTE penetration rates, such as the U.S., Korea, Japan and the UK. Now, the company is making preparations to lead the 5G era based on its innovative technology and previous success in implementing 4G.

In this interview, two of Samsung Network Business unit’s executives—Dr. Dongsoo Park, Executive Vice President and Head of Global Sales & Marketing Team, and Dr. Woojune Kim, Vice President, Next Generation Business Team—share how Samsung is working to do so.

Dr. Dongsoo Park (left) and Daryl Schoolar (right)

Q. Please tell us a bit about Samsung Networks’ current business status and achievements in 4G LTE?

Dr. Park: Our success with 4G LTE has helped us to build a strong global networks business. We have led in the development of OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access) technologies and this experience has proved helpful in rolling out LTE solutions.

We have successfully deployed LTE technology in advanced markets including the U.S., Japan, the UK and Korea. To continue innovating and providing cutting-edge technologies, we have focused on mature markets with the highest mobile broadband adoption rates. We do, however, see additional opportunities in emerging markets that could also prove to be valuable.

Q. What is your strategy for entering new markets such as South Asia?

Dr. Park: We’re pursuing markets with high potential for large-scale LTE deployments. In these markets, we’re looking to target operators with similar needs to our existing customer base, like those that are seeking advanced, cutting-edge LTE solutions.

We would like to work in emerging markets to contribute to their digitalization through LTE, all the while cultivating long-term relationship with our customer-operators. Our partnership with Jio in India is a great example of this. We don’t want to put ourselves in a position where we are competing only on price. We’re trying to enter markets where we can lead in technological development with innovative solutions.

In cases where it is part of the operators’ strategy, 5G is a definite asset for creating our opportunities. The introduction of 5G, with its use of small cells mixed with macro cells and reliance on network virtualization, will lead to more open interfaces and make it easier to integrate multiple vendors.

Q. What business strategies will you use to stand out in a crowded field?

Dr. Park: When it comes to vendor differentiation, our strategy is to be “first to market” with leading edge technologies. Our collaboration with Korean operators has allowed us to lead the deployment of some of the most technologically advanced LTE networks in the world.

For instance, we set a number of precedents in our efforts to commercialize various LTE technologies. This includes developing VoLTE, multicarrier and LTE Smallcell in 2012, carrier aggregation in 2013, LTE Broadcast (eMBMS) in 2014,  and tri-band carrier aggregation and virtualized core (NFV, vIMS/vEPC) in 2015. Furthermore, we expect to unveil  LTE-Advanced Pro features early next year. These will enable users to reach 1-gigabit throughput using tri-band carrier aggregation, 256QAM and 4X4 MIMO.

Dr. Woojune Kim (left) and Daryl Schoolar (right)

Q. What is the background of Samsung’s Next Generation Business team?

Dr. Kim: Samsung has been working on 5G in different areas of the company (IC, devices, networks) for the last five years. But earlier this year, we found that 5G was accelerating faster than anticipated, so we had to increase our efforts accordingly. To do this, we had to consolidate all of our 5G projects into a single business unit. The result is the Next Generation Business team, which incorporates Samsung’s 5G development teams, along with the 5G strategy team.

Q. What are some of R&D-related preparations Samsung is making regarding 5G?

Dr. Kim: Samsung believes 5G is different than previous mobile standards. It is much more than just an interface for mobile devices. It is a completely new network architecture and it will be found in a much more diverse set of devices including consumer electronics and industrial devices.

Samsung has been developing 5G-related technologies since 2011. We have invested significant resources in 5G technologies like millimeter wave channel models and RF ICs. This includes RF key technologies for smaller chipsets, multi-cell handover with millimeter wave frequency and network virtualization technologies.

Q. What is your strategy for collaborating with the 5G industry?

Dr. Kim: The key starting point for our strategy to commercialize 5G is partnering with operators. Right now, we are developing Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) solutions and we expect to move on to mobile solutions. We are also collaborating with other ecosystem vendors, such as component vendors, to find ways to reduce the costs of 5G equipment and solutions.

We are even working with our competitors to create mutual standards on which we can build a set of 5G parameters. These parameters will help operators understand what to expect from 5G. In addition, we have started to work with third-parties to ensure that video, IoT and other applications run properly across 5G networks.

Q. How is Samsung planning to differentiate itself when it comes to 5G?

Dr. Kim: Internally, we are proactively bringing together as many business units as possible to usher in this new era of telecommunications. For example, to introduce millimeter wave the network will require a new type of base station that is small, visually attractive, cost-effective and has the ability to run on low power. This requires Samsung not only to leverage engineering expertise in the network business to build the radio, but also to bring in resources from our consumer electronics business to create something that will be aesthetically pleasing.

Q. When will the 5G commercialization take place?

Dr. Kim: We think we will see some initial commercial networks based on 5G by the end of 2017 or early in 2018. We are expecting targeted use case-driven deployments initially, as opposed to all-encompassing nationwide rollouts.

We’ll also see that 5G won’t be as mobile-centric as we might have considered it to be previously. Fixed wireless, IoT and mission critical communications don’t always have the same broad coverage requirements as found in our traditional mobile communications networks.

5G, therefore, will serve much more than mobile devices and networks, as it won’t be required to have the same universal coverage. Instead, 5G will be deployed in more select areas for specific 5G aspects, such as high bandwidth or low latency, with LTE filling in coverage gaps.

Q. After launching 5G FWA commercially, what steps will Samsung take to initiate full 5G mobility?

Dr. Kim: Once the operators implement Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), they can then add mobility. Put simply, 5G FWA might be described as a “wireless fiber to the home” which is considered one of initial 5G use cases. 5G mobility is expected to be available around 2020. Until then, we will satisfy the current market needs of 5G FWA starting in 2017.

Q. What is the biggest misunderstanding that mobile operators have about Samsung Networks?

Dr. Park: Some mobile operators attribute the success of our networks business solely to our customer-operators in Korea. However, Samsung has been committed to mobile network development for more than 35 years, and actively contributed to advancing connectivity capabilities in a number of markets.

Having Korea as our home base affords us an incredible opportunity to commercialize the latest technology, which are reinforced by our current presence in the U.S., Japan, Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Russia. Our recent collaboration with Jio India further promotes Samsung’s firm commitment to the infrastructure business.

The newly signed MoU specifically covers technologies viewed as essential for advanced communications, including advanced Carrier Aggregation, Multiple-Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technologies, LTE Broadcast (eMBMS), Multi-path TCP (MPTCP) as well as IoT technologies such as NB-IoT and LTE-Machine. The two companies will conduct multiple tests to enhance data communication speed, leveraging 4G infrastructure through advanced Carrier aggregation, MIMO and MPTCP.

“Samsung is pleased to sign this MoU with MTS as it proves our successful partnership around LTE. We are confident that this collaboration will play a key role in leveraging advanced technologies to bring everyday benefit to the lives of Russians,” said Dong Soo Park, Executive Vice President of the Networks business at Samsung Electronics. “Based on Samsung’s strengths in 5G and IoT, we look forward to supporting MTS in solidifying their position as an innovative telecommunications leader by discovering new opportunities for the commercialization of 5G.”

Through its collaboration with Samsung, MTS will also be able to broaden opportunities for new services and applications, such as IoT. The MoU involves diverse IoT network technologies, including 3GPP based NB-IoT and LTE-M. As network requirements like data rates, spectrum bandwidth and battery life vary by diverse IoT use cases, MTS and Samsung will find and select the best technology suited for each business case.

As 5G will play a significant role in providing ultra-fast data communication with low latency and new spectrum efficiencies, the two companies will also work together to pave the way toward 5G realization by driving conversation in the direction of 5G trials.

“MTS is consecutively working on preparation of its network in Russian regions for 5G technology deployment, and signing memorandum with Samsung is another important step on that way. Paying close attention already now to innovative research and development, when new standard requirements are still under formation, we build a basis for quick 5G implementation in future, considering growing subscriber needs and changing environment on country’s telecom market. Commercial deployment of new technologies, including an area of IoT, will make it possible for us to occupy new market niche in both corporate and mass market domains.” – concluded MTS Vice President of technology Mr. Andrei Ushatskiy

Samsung and MTS have been working together since 2013 to establish LTE networks in cities across the North-West Federal District of Russia, including St. Petersburg and the Leningrad regions, Pskov, Komi, Arkhangelsk, Murmansk, and others. The two companies will continue to expand their mutual long-term business cooperation with a focus on 5G.

Since the late 2000s, Samsung has been continuously investing in experiments and studies involving 5G based technologies, with a primary focus on 5G commercialization technology since 2014. Through its efforts, Samsung’s milestone 5G technology developments have included the world’s first handover demonstration in a multi-cell mmWave network, a 5G channel modelling tool to significantly reduce the time and labor required for 5G network planning, and RF technology essential in miniaturizing devices and equipment. Samsung has also played a key role in contributing to the formation of 3GPP standards, and holds essential patents for the new 5G standards, expected to be finalized in 2018.

About Mobile Telesystems PJSC

Mobile TeleSystems PJSC (“MTS” – NYSE:MBT; MOEX:MTSS) is the leading telecommunications group in Russia, Central and Eastern Europe. We provide wireless Internet access and fixed voice, broadband and pay-TV to over 100 million customers who value high quality of service at a competitive price. Our wireless and fixed-line networks deliver best-in-class speeds and coverage throughout Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Turkmenistan and Belarus. To keep pace with evolving customer demand, we continue to grow through innovative products, investments in our market-leading retail platform, mobile payment services, e-commerce and IT solutions. For more information, please visit: www.mtsgsm.com.

The company is now bringing its drive and passion for innovation to next-generation mobile advancements, playing a leading role in 5G development and standardization. Samsung has already begun trialing technology in the field in cooperation with pioneering service providers in the United States, Japan and Europe.

Paul Kyungwhoon Cheun, Executive Vice President and Head of the Next Generation Business Team, explains the company’s most recent 5G developments and what the future of mobile communications has to offer.

Q. First of all, what exactly is 5G?

A. 5G means a lot of different things to different people within the industry. The aspects that are most talked about today, such as improvements to throughput and latency, are parts of a much larger puzzle that the telecommunications industry is working hard to construct. The end goal of 5G is to fundamentally transform the way we make use of mobile connectivity.

That, of course, means a significantly faster and more responsive user experience for people. However, it also means enabling an entirely new dimension of use cases that go beyond the traditional boundaries of the mobile industry by pulling in dozens of previously unconnected or under-connected industries – from automotive and home entertainment to city planning and public safety. In fact, our earliest 5G trials have already begun to explore use cases that have not typically leveraged wireless connectivity in the past.

Q. How will 5G impact the people’s user experience?

A. For the typical mobile users, 5G will enable a much richer media experience overall. Next-generation networks will be capable of delivering multi-gigabit throughputs and extremely low latencies, even in highly dense locations. Some of the first major use cases will be highly responsive 4K video content and 360-degree virtual and augmented reality experiences.

For example, musicians from across the globe will now be able to pick up their instruments and play together, while fans watch in real-time. Such scenario requires both bandwidth to support multi-way UHD video streams and extremely low latencies that allow players to remain in-sync and on-beat.

Additionally, a defining goal of 5G is to introduce an entirely new paradigm of connectivity. A key focus for service providers will be development and introduction of revolutionary new services beyond traditional mobile industry offerings to a new set of customers.

Q. What is Samsung doing to differentiate itself from other vendors exploring 5G?

A. Most importantly, Samsung brings unparalleled, end-to-end expertise to its 5G efforts. The company is ideally positioned to explore the Internet of Things, for example, with established strengths in network infrastructure, device manufacturing and chipset development, as well as market leadership in household appliances and consumer electronics.

Samsung has established a Next Generation Business Team to recruit talented staff from every part of the company, including chipset, mobile device and networks divisions, in order to specifically focus on the challenges and opportunities of the fast-approaching 5G era.

We also have been one of the strongest contributors to the standardization of 5G technologies, working closely with operators, academic organizations and international standards bodies such as ITU-R and 3GPP.

Related article:
Samsung Begins 5G Technology Standardization in Earnest by Hosting 3GPP RAN1 Meeting

Q. What kinds of technology is Samsung using in its 5G trials and what are the challenges the trials are designed to explore?

A. One of the core focuses of our early 5G trials has been the delivery of high throughput and high capacity connectivity over relatively dense footprints. Today’s LTE networks generally communicate using radio frequencies between 600 and 2600 MHz, which has now become a very crowded space. In order to meet the goals of our 5G vision, Samsung has been exploring the usage of ultra-high frequency spectrum, commonly called millimeter waves (or mmWave). There are extremely large portions of this spectrum that are unused or under-used – easily five to ten times more than the total amount available for LTE.

Until a few years ago, millimeter waves were a large unknown for the industry. They have a unique set of characteristics and challenges. For example, mmWaves have a more difficult time penetrating solid objects and are much more easily absorbed in the air when compared to the lower LTE frequencies. Because of this, the potential of mobile communications at these high frequencies has been at the core of our research and development over the past four years, and is now playing a significant role in our 5G field trials.

Adaptive beamforming is one of the technologies designed to overcome the challenges at high frequencies. Beamforming works by tightly focusing the radio waves into individual beams that are targeted independently at each device. A combination of small antenna arrays and advanced signal processing makes this possible, enabling high quality signals and incredible data throughputs.

Related articles:
Samsung Announces World’s First 5G mmWave Mobile Technology
Samsung Electronics Sets 5G Speed Record at 7.5Gbps, Over 30 Times Faster Than 4G LTE
[Photo] Samsung Networks Booth Showcases the Power and Possibilities of Connectivity at MWC 2016
Samsung Advances its 5G Vision at Mobile World Congress 2016

Q. Samsung recently completed a demo of multi-cell handover capability in 5G. Can you describe why this is important?

A. Handover is a defining aspect of mobile networks. Samsung’s early successes in this area demonstrate our focus on practical technology innovation.

Base stations have a limited range depending on their frequency and output power. As users move around the network, they will inevitably move beyond the coverage area of a given base station and will need to connect to another station. In LTE, the network and the device need to coordinate this transition perfectly to avoid dropped calls or service interruptions.

With 5G, this becomes even more complicated because radio signals are being actively beamed to users. Thus 5G networks also need to coordinate the beam formation between the base stations during the handover to maintain signal quality, throughput and user experience.

Samsung is the first vendor to develop a solution for this challenge, and has successfully showcased the ability to handover in a fraction of a second without any negative impact on user experience. Recently, our three-cell field test network demonstrated average throughputs above 1 gigabit per second, while the device moved through the network at a speed of 25km/h.

Related article:
[Video] Samsung’s Latest 5G Milestone: Multi-cell Handover

Q. Speaking of chipset developments, what is Samsung doing in this area?

A. While there has been a lot of emphasis on mmWave spectrum and beamforming, chipset development is also a key focus of Samsung’s end-to-end mobile strategy. Up until now, trial equipment has been fairly large, including the cabinet-sized base stations and “user devices” that must be mounted on the top of a vehicle. Advanced chipsets will allow smaller devices and base stations and enable the ultra-broadband throughputs expected from 5G.

Samsung’s pioneering research efforts have included the development of key technologies for 5G-capable RFIC chipsets, which are integrated chipsets small enough to fit into typical smartphone devices. At MWC this year, we showcased a 5G-ready smartphone prototype featuring the 60GHz version of this chipset. In the near future, we will follow suit with a prototype 28GHz chipset.

Related articles:
Samsung Electronics Develops Key RF Technology for Smaller 5G Equipment and Devices

Q. What does the introduction of 5G mean for other technologies, such as LTE and WiFi?

A. 5G will transform the way we think about mobile networks, and the deployment of end-to-end 5G infrastructure will positively impact existing and future radio access technologies. Keep in mind that the radio enhancements, we’re focused on today represent just one among of the several key components of what will make 5G so transformative.

With the implementation of several other technologies, such as virtualization and software-defined networking, Samsung is exploring the potential of what we call a “Multi-Link architecture.” Built for next generation networks, this architecture will introduce powerful and adaptive interworking between 5G and virtually any other modern radio access method – from LTE and WiFi to LPWA technologies and more. With Multi-Link, the network can efficiently meet the connectivity needs of any given user, device or service in real-time. To accomplish this, next-generation networks will be able to automatically leverage available network resources and technologies – each of which excel in different use cases – without manual configuration or network service planning.

Related article:
Samsung Advances its 5G Vision at Mobile World Congress 2016

Q. When can we expect to see 5G commercialization?

A. Samsung is now working very closely with service providers, governments and standards bodies alike to accelerate the standardization and readiness of 5G technologies. We are expecting to see some of the earliest implementations of 5G – focused on fixed wireless applications – go live in late 2017 or early 2018. Fixed wireless applications will enable more people to access gigabit per second internet connections at home by providing a compelling alternative to fiber-based connectivity. Samsung is taking a leading position in defining this market which is expected to grow to tens of billions dollars in the US market, with even greater opportunities globally.

The first mobile broadband applications are being developed in parallel, and Samsung is preparing to deliver 5G trial service by early 2018 in PyeongChang, Korea. By 2020, broader commercialization will take place in Korea and similar markets, including Japan and the United States.

Related articles:

Samsung Delivers on Gigabit Wireless Promise of 5G

Samsung Electronics and Deutsche Telekom Demonstrate World’s First End-to-End 5G Solution at Mobile World Congress 2016

Samsung and KDDI Collaborate to Create Next Generation 5G Technologies

Samsung Electronics and LG U+ Signed MoU for Next Generation 5G Technology

mmMAGIC Technologies to Unlock Spectrum Above 6Ghz, Including Millimetre Wave Bands, for 5G’s Extreme Mobile Broadband

“We’re pleased to be a strategic partner of YTL, one of Malaysia’s leaders in innovation,” said Youngky Kim, President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “Today’s LTE commercial launch proves our reliability and loyalty to our partner, supporting the successful evolution to a 4G LTE mobile network on top of the existing 4G broadband footprint.”

“Demand for Internet is growing dramatically in Malaysia. We are proud to have closed the digital divide in Malaysia with our 4G Broadband network,” said Wing K. Lee, CEO of YTL Communications. “And we’re excited to continue the lead as Malaysia’s 4G champion with the launch of the largest and most advanced 4G LTE network that enables Malaysians to enjoy blazingly fast Mobile Internet and High Definition voice using VoLTE – a Malaysia first. Samsung has been supporting our quest every step of the way and today marks yet another important milestone in our strategic partnership.”

Through the strategic partnership between YTL and Samsung, YTL is able to deploy its ‘Brand new Yes 4G LTE network’ using Samsung’s end-to-end 4G LTE solutions, including  network equipment for 2.3GHz and 2.6GHz frequency bands, smartphones and even services such as deployment, optimization, maintenance and more.

Samsung also offered innovative VoLTE solutions. The VoLTE service delivers much clearer High Definition (HD) quality voice calls as well as video calls, seamless voice/video call swapping during mobile calls and the ability to share multimedia like images or website links during calls. These new services are all provided on the basis of an all-IP LTE network.

As a leader in the telecommunications industry, over the past 35 years, Samsung has partnered with a number of global mobile service providers, enabling them to deploy state-of-the-art network solutions in their respective markets.

About YTL Communications Sdn Bhd

Yes, a brand under YTL Communications Sdn Bhd (793634-V), is a global frontrunner in 4G Internet and operates two robust 4G LTE and 4G Broadband networks in Malaysia. It is also the first in Malaysia to offer voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) service for high definition, crystal clear calls. With 85% nationwide population coverage across the country, Yes offers the best of both 4G Internet services together in one convenient plan. The award-wining brand has been recognised by the Broadband InfoVision Awards under the ‘Best New Service’ category in 2011 and ‘Best Broadband Cloud’ category in 2013, Frost & Sullivan’s ‘Most Innovative Service Provider of the Year 2012’ and ‘Most Promising Telecom Service Provider of the Year 2013’ as well as Telecoms.com’s “Best Enterprise Cloud Offering” Industry Award in 2014. For more information, please visit www.yes.my.

The finding is based on the “Results of Research on Telecom Technology Patent Trends and Patent Litigation Analysis” study, released on April 8 by the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO).

The report stated that Samsung accounts for 12.7 percent (954 in total) of the LTE/LTE-A SEPs owned by 66 telecommunications businesses around the world.

The study was conducted over the course of three years by 35 experts, including patent attorneys, professors, and others from the National Applied Research Laboratory, a Taiwanese government-owned institution. The study chose and analyzed 7,516 U.S. patents related to LTE and LTE-A, which were declared as SEPs (Standard Essential Patents) to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).

Samsung was also ranked No. 1 in the 2015 report, which surveyed 43 telecommunications businesses.

With the LTE patents portfolio, Samsung is expected to be an industry leader in the area of 5G technology.

ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute)
ETSI produces global standards for Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), including fixed, mobile, radio, aeronautical, broadcast and internet technologies, and is officially recognized by the European Union as a European Standards Organization.

The implementation of 5G as a viable alternative to wired broadband is one of the major focus area for Samsung, particularly in urban and suburban areas where fibre drops to the home or office would be a barrier to subscription.

As the digital age moves from individual devices to expansive digital networks, the Samsung Networks Booth at MWC 2016 explores the power and possibilities of connectivity. Through its display of its 4G LTE and advanced mobile technologies and solutions that will both pave the way towards the 5G era, and fulfill the potential to create a more sustainable future, Samsung is demonstrating its commitment toward developing innovations that push beyond today’s existing technologies.

In a demonstration of the potential capabilities of 5G technology, Samsung shows how eight members of a musical group can each transmit a separate 4K Ultra High-Definition video over the air without delay and synchronizes perfect harmony.

Thanks to the seamless mobility, higher throughput and low latency of 5G technology, new services like hologram calls, live virtual reality broadcasting and self-driving cars will soon enrich our lives.

Samsung showcases the world’s first mobile handover test using the mmWave radio system and hand-held smartphone with multiple antenna modules integrated.

Samsung introduced an end-to-end solution from chipsets, devices to radio access networks (RAN).

To address challenges operators face to efficiently manage heterogeneous networks(Smallcell/Macrocell, Licensed/Unlicensed, 3GPP/Non-3GPP), Samsung offers a range of new solutions that effectively utilize multiple links, including Inter-site Carrier Aggregation, LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U) Small Cell; LTE & Wifi Aggregation; and Smart Multi-link & Unified Cloud.

As the amount of data services and smartphone devices dramatically increases, more spectrum is required to accommodate fast growing data traffic and help ensure a great user experience. LTE in Unlicensed spectrum includes a key family of technologies that allows aggregation of licensed and unlicensed spectrum bands to efficiently and timely increase network capacity and speed.

The Samsung LTE-U eFemto cell is designed to enable plug-and-play deployments with easier installation and a high capacity for enterprises. A single small cell unit can support three carriers of 20 MHz each, across both licensed and unlicensed spectrum, offering a peak download throughput up to 450Mbps.

The key lineup of Samsung’s IoT solutions include IoT Core, Gateways and various radio access solutions such as a standalone IoT base station, IoT integrated Digital Unit (DU) and LoRa based Unlicensed Low Power Wide Area (LPWA).

PS-LTE enables more effective communication by sharing precise emergency information in the form of real-time video streaming and high quality images.

Samsung’s PS-LTE network is the first in the world to be commercialized using the 3GPP telecommunications standard.

All of these latest technologies and solutions will be exhibited at the Samsung booth (Exhibit Hall 2 Stand 2M10) during Mobile World Congress 2016 from February 22-25 in Barcelona. To find more images of Samsung’s exhibition at the MWC 2016, please visit Samsung Newsroom Flickr.

Samsung Electronics, a leading provider of mobile broadband networking solutions, announced that it has successfully demonstrated the capabilities of Telco Software-Defined Networking(SDN) in a proof of concept test deployment with South Korean operator SK Telecom.

The proof of concept demonstration was composed of Samsung technology, including a test-scale LTE network provided by Samsung, a virtualized EPC along with the addition of several SDN switches and an SDN controller to manage traffic flow. The test network simulated multiple transport routes within the network, and allowed for traffic to be dynamically anchored to optimal routes for an application or user. Even in simulated node overloads and failures, the SDN system showcased the ability to re-route traffic to maximize operating efficiency and prevent degradation in the quality of user experience.

Critically, the system also enabled separation of user and control planes, allowing more appropriate and direct routes for each. This will play a very important role in enabling dense IoT (Internet of Things) traffic, where rapid growth in device and sensor communications has the potential to overburden unprepared telecommunications networks. Multiple types of traffic were also simulated, including web and video data, in order to demonstrate the system’s routing and data-plane separation capabilities.

“The results of this demonstration show exciting promise for the capabilities that SDN can bring to the mobile network, and we are looking forward to the next phase of this project slated for early next year.” Said Seongyong Park, Vice President and Head of Next Generation R&D, Network Business at Samsung Electronics. “With the help of partners such as SK Telecom, Samsung is delivering on its commitment to next-generation mobile technologies; together with our leadership in other areas, such as 5G radio and NFV, it shows the innovation potential that Samsung bring to the mobile industry.”

“Efficient transport of data traffic through the mobile network is a key area of interest as we strive to meet growing demand for mobile data and differentiated network services,” said Jin-hyo Park, Senior Vice President & Head of Network Technology Center at SK Telecom. “This feasibility demonstration represents an important first step, and SK Telecom remains committed to taking a leadership position in the development of future generation mobile telecommunication technologies.”

Software-Defined Networking, in parallel with Network Functions Virtualization, has been identified by Samsung and SK Telecom as key technologies for the enablement of 5G networks, and is expected to contribute significantly to improvements in network capacity, latency, flexibility and total cost of ownership. This demonstration closely follows on the heels of commercial deployments of Samsung’s AdaptiV Core platform for SK Telecom, including its AdaptiV vEPC and AdaptiV vIMS solutions in August and September, respectively.

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.

The mobile-first workforce of the modern world means that fast, wireless access to the Internet and connected devices is a growing need of businesses. Wireless technologies are a core part of an enterprise’s network solutions. The Internet of Things (IoT) is making it necessary to guide the effective integration of connected devices that communicate with each other. To accomplish this seamless connection, the right technology must be in place for those devices to communicate effectively and efficiently.

Truly efficient business environments depend on a reliable and fast network to meet the rising demand for bandwidth. In order to support enterprise mobility activities such as user-owned devices, IoT and digital content consumption, Samsung’s WLAN solutions provide improved end-user experiences with faster connectivity, battery life preservation and maximum airtime for devices.

Samsung Electronics is now at the center of enterprise network solutions, launching IoT access points (AP) that support multiple interfaces, including Wi-Fi, ZigBee and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), as well as the industry’s smallest Outdoor Mesh AP.

IoT AP Enables WiFi, ZigBee and Bluetooth

Wireless LAN is a local area network, which allows high-speed Internet connection within a certain distance where wireless devices can connect through an access point. Samsung has recently launched two types of wireless LAN products. The first product is an IoT AP which supports both ZigBee and BLE. This is an industry-first product that supports Wi-Fi, ZigBee and BLE technology.

“The product was developed with the most careful consideration of the implementation of the highest level of technology so that problems such as interference did not take place when supporting Wi-Fi, ZigBee and BLE technology. These three technologies use the same frequency range so problems such as data loss could occur when users use the three technologies simultaneously. To prevent such problems, interference control technology among Wi-Fi, ZigBee and Bluetooth 2.4G communication technologies were developed and applied,” said Deahyun Lee, Principle Engineer at Networks Business.

Developing such technology meant success in intelligent control of the ZigBee device using local information received via BLE signals. For instance, the building management system detects the number of people on a certain floor by a BLE signal, which is widely adopted for smartphones, and controls the temperature of the floor by signaling the air conditioning system using a ZigBee signal. With Samsung IoT AP, there is no need to install extra a BLE beacon or ZigBee equipment.

“The IoT AP was originally planned with shopping malls, department stores and hospitals as the primary target market, where the BLE-based location services are required. To do this, after the product development was complete, a detailed analysis on the effect of the product was carried out on-site, by visiting large shopping malls nearby,” noted Julee Lee, Product Planner at Networks Business.

“As the first product in the industry to implement such technology, Samsung will be able to enter the Smart building market with other illumination and air ventilation system industries that require energy saving,” she added.

The IoT AP product integrates all Wi-Fi technology required in an enterprise environment, in addition to integrating convenience, service optimization and strong security. A wireless LAN product optimized for the IoT environment has been created.

Launching the Outdoor Mesh AP

Outdoor Mesh Access Points allow the wireless connection of numerous Aps, instead of using wired network cables. The advantages of an outdoor mesh system include eliminating physical restrictions and reducing the deployment costs.

The Outdoor Mesh AP recently launched by Samsung is the smallest in the industry, but is still technologically advanced. With an environmental protection rating of IP67, the Outdoor Mesh AP is safe from dust and debris and can be submerged in water up to one meter. At only 2.8kg, and only 58mm thick, the product can be easily transported and installed.

“The Outdoor Mesh AP is used in diverse locations in corporations and urban environments. This product can be deployed both indoors and outdoors so multiple environmental elements must be considered. For this reason, Samsung concentrated on implementing technology allowing easy deployment through a small design and easy notification of Wi-Fi status through LED lamp,” Edric Kim, Product Planner, explained.

“Moreover, to protect the product against bad weather conditions, Samsung Outdoor Mesh AP guarantees the IP67 certification, a rating higher than IP65, with its own waterproof and dustproof technology,” he added.

Principal Engineer, Young-Cheol Ham, addressed the test process in real environment. “This is a product developed after tests conducted in several locations within Korea, from boat race courses to embankments, to conduct various investigations on outdoor environment installations. Such experiences helped us check the competence of the product, working more accurately under any environmental conditions.

“The strengths of this product are optimization and recovery functionality among Air Time (own development) based on mesh-protocol based nodes (AP), provision of mesh service regardless of network topology (controller-based or local switching service mode) and utilization of optimal wireless resources when transmitting data between accessing terminal,” he concluded.

Samsung’s Outdoor Mesh APs are already installed in a lake park in Korea, and it allows people to fully enjoy the speed of 1G wireless internet service, even outdoors.

A Long Future of Wireless Technology

Data usage is only going to expand. The emergence of technologies that will make the lives of consumers simpler and more convenient are coming, like IoT. Samsung’s Smart WLAN, equipped with LTE technologies such as Scheduling, Handover and SON, guarantees high speed and seamless Wi-Fi service. Wireless intrusion prevention systems (WIPS) modules provide advanced security protection in the cost effective way.

Samsung has launched a dozen Smart WLAN products, mainly in Korea, Europe and North America. Samsung will launch diverse wireless APs which fits market needs, expanding to Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

The new standard was completed and released less than three months ago, in March 2015, but that was enough time for Samsung to demonstrate end-to-end services with the newly developed base station, LTE Core, IMS Core, Application server and devices – underscoring the company’s LTE technology leadership.

“The live demonstration of our PS-LTE solution is a significant achievement,” said Youngky Kim, President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “It takes us one step closer to successfully participating and building the world’s first nationwide Public Safety network with LTE Technology, and we are confident in accomplishing this thanks to our leading product portfolio and constant innovation.”

The live demonstration, which was held at Samsung Electronics’ Digital City in Suwon, South Korea, showed how Samsung’s PS-LTE solution could be used during a real emergency situation. When an emergency situation occurs, Samsung’s PS-LTE solution provides relevant parties with an optimal transmitting method, such as voice, multimedia Push-To-Talk (PTT) and video conference services.

Samsung’s eMBMS technology successfully connected more than 80 devices and simultaneously transmitted HD video during the demonstration.

eMBMS technology multicasts and broadcasts content to a large number of subscribers simultaneously without delays or disconnection. It can vastly improve the number of devices that can stream live video of the field.

With eMBMS there is also an opportunity to better utilize the available bandwidth, which is critical during massive disasters that require more than 1,000 personnel for the rescue mission, drawn from the full range of emergency services, such as fire fighters, police officers and medical professionals. Without eMBMS, only a dozen of devices can live stream the HD video in one cell, whereas eMBMS enables more than 1,000 devices.

As the leading contributor to the 3GPP PS-LTE standard, Samsung has supported the standardization of the device-to-device (D2D) and Group Communication System Enabler for LTE (GCSE LTE) specifications in Release 12.

With the Release 13 specification, Samsung aims to further cement its leadership with public safety related items such as Mission Critical Push-to-Talk (MCPTT), Isolated E-UTRAN Operation for Public Safety (IOPS) and enhanced device-to-device (eD2D) standardization.

Since February 2015, Samsung Electronics has taken a role as a vice chairman of SA6 (Service and System Aspect), which takes care of MCPTT (Mission Critical Push-To-Talk) Standardization.