Ridgefield Park, NJ – February 21, 2019 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced that it has entered the O-RAN Alliance, joining global carriers and networking technology suppliers in their commitment to design and implement a more open network infrastructure.

Founded in 2018, the O-RAN Alliance is an industry-wide, carrier-led effort to integrate greater intelligence into the radio access networks of next-generation wireless systems. The alliance encourages companies to transition to cloud-based, virtual systems powered by multi-vendor networks and open interfaces.

An open approach enables the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to help operators better manage their networks through automation, as they evolve to 5G. This can accelerate delivery of next-generation 5G capabilities to consumers and businesses – including AR/VR, autonomous technologies and high-quality video streaming. Using best-in-class technologies on open networks can enhance feature performance by intelligently allocating bandwidth to the applications that need it most at a given moment.

“Samsung is an established pioneer in networking technology, from 2G to 4G LTE and 5G NR—and through this evolution, we’ve been committed to fostering innovation through openness,” said Juha Lappalainen, Vice President, Networks Division, Samsung Electronics America. “We’re excited to partner with carriers and suppliers in the O-RAN Alliance to help design the standards that will optimize today’s networks to meet increasing demands of next-generation users.”

Samsung plans to take an active role in O-RAN’S work, and will join relevant working groups within O-RAN to spearhead initiatives that include a focus on innovation through network virtualization and open standards development. These are critical areas that operators look for in building next-generation networks and bringing intelligence to its functions.

Prior to its O-RAN Alliance membership, Samsung Networks was a leading contributor to the xRAN Forum, a predecessor to the O-RAN Alliance in which Samsung was instrumental in the creation of the xRAN Fronthaul Specification.