C-Band spectrum (3.7GHz to 3.98GHz) is used in deployments to boost overall 5G capabilities, access and coverage, while CBRS (3.55GHz to 3.7GHz) opens new opportunities, such as powering private enterprise networks or bringing broadband to underserved areas. By using a dual-band radio, mobile operators no longer need to deploy two radios to provide the benefits of C-Band and CBRS. This helps reduce an operator’s footprint and lower energy consumption, while simplifying installation and operation.

The dual-band radio brings significant benefits to radio innovation. It is ultra-lightweight and compact — weighing approximately 14kg (30lbs). Plus, it is equipped with Samsung’s in-house built chipset, bringing greater flexibility by supporting 350MHz of bandwidth covering both C-Band and CBRS spectrums. Leveraging the wide bandwidth support, operators can aggregate these spectrum bands to maximize network capacity to handle high user demands.

C-Band/CBRS Dual-band 16T16R Massive MIMO Radio

“C-Band and CBRS are mid-band sweet spots that provide a perfect combination of coverage and capacity for 5G services. We are excited to introduce our latest addition to our Massive MIMO radios portfolio, a multi-band radio that offers unprecedented compactness and is lightweight,” said Wonil Roh, Senior Vice President and Head of Product Strategy, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “We are proud to expand our mid-band solutions lineup to offer flexibility and maximized network capacity to operators, and we plan to continue building optimized 5G solutions to bring the best possible value to our customers.”

vRAN Integration

This new dual-band Massive MIMO radio also integrates with Samsung’s virtualized Radio Access Network (vRAN), offering greater agility to operators. By replacing dedicated baseband hardware with software elements, vRAN offers more deployment flexibility, greater scalability and improved resource efficiency in network operation. Samsung vRAN offers features and performance that are equivalent to traditional hardware-based equipment, while covering both low- and mid-band spectrums, as well as indoor and outdoor solutions. Samsung is the only major network vendor to have commercially deployed its vRAN to operators across Asia, Europe and North America.

The new radio is part of Samsung’s comprehensive portfolio of solutions for C-Band and CBRS, which include best-in-class radios that are already commercially deployed in North America. The new C-Band/CBRS Dual-band 16T16R Massive MIMO Radio will be commercially available in the second half of 2022.

Samsung has pioneered the successful delivery of 5G end-to-end infrastructure 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.

AWS and PCS are important mid-band spectrums, offering a good mixture of coverage and capacity. By combining them into a ‘one box’ solution, mobile operators gain a simplified approach to capacity extension.

As the lightest and most compact AWS/PCS dual-band Massive MIMO radio available in the market, Samsung’s new radio stands out for its ability to deliver high output power (320W) in a small form factor. It is equipped with the company’s latest System-on-a-Chip (SoC), which is built to improve network capacity and coverage, while decreasing its power consumption and radio size. This will enable operators to reduce their radio footprint, the weight placed on towers and installation time, helping to drive faster rollouts and operational efficiency.

AWS/PCS Dual-band Massive MIMO Radio and AWS/PCS Dual-band 4T4R Radio

The AWS/PCS Dual-band Massive MIMO Radio is the company’s first 16T16R FDD dual-band Massive MIMO radio. It is now commercially available, along with Samsung’s AWS/PCS Dual-band 4T4R Radio. Samsung continues to offer a comprehensive lineup of radios covering low-band, mid-band and mmWave in North America.

“We are excited to launch a new dual-band 16T16R Massive MIMO radio, adding to our 5G radio lineup to expand our extensive portfolio of cutting-edge network solutions,” said Dong Geun Lee, Vice President and Head of H/W R&D Group, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “With Samsung’s high-performance dual-band Massive MIMO radio, which features one of the smallest footprints in the industry, operators will be able to easily boost network capacity and accelerate network rollouts.”

Samsung has pioneered the successful delivery of 5G end-to-end infrastructure 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.

Why is Massive MIMO a Key Technology?

With the exponential growth in mobile traffic, the newly deployed 5G solutions must provide fast and stable network connections. Massive MIMO is a major breakthrough in technology which improves the network capacity and the user’s 5G experience. Massive MIMO, outfitted with a large number of antennas, can control the antennas to concentrate the emitted radio signals into a narrow beam focused on a designated user, resulting in a significant improvement in throughput and efficiency while reducing interferences among nearby users.

Coverage comparison between legacy antenna and Massive MIMO

Samsung Leads the Massive MIMO Evolution

Samsung provides a wide array of Massive MIMO radio lineup that aim to support all of the globally defined 5G spectrums in mid-band and serve diverse environments and site requirements. In 5G’s initial stage, Samsung Massive MIMO radio featured a slim, lightweight, compact design to ensure easy installation and quick deployment. These specifications were a key driver for Korean operators launching one of the world’s first 5G services in 2019.

Samsung will continue to develop technology that supports a vast array of spectrum with higher capacity. The company will lay the groundwork for more innovations by introducing the next-generation Massive MIMO with enhancements in the latest 3GPP release 16 and 17, as well as Distributed FD-MIMO (Full Dimension MIMO) in the coming years.

For further information on Samsung’s Massive MIMO for New Radio, read the whitepaper here.

Samsung has pioneered the successful delivery of 5G end-to-end solutions including chipsets, radios, and core network technologies. Samsung supports 5G commercial services in the world’s leading markets, including Korea, the U.S. and Japan. In addition, the company is rapidly expanding its global footprint to new markets including Canada and New Zealand.