Intel and Samsung are doubling down on the cloud-native virtualized radio access network (vRAN) world with a renewed partnership that aims to sell mobile network operators (MNOs) the pair’s latest virtual technology.
Samsung is working with Intel to integrate its latest vRAN 3.0 software with the recently launched 4th Gen Intel Xeon processors with Intel vRAN Boost to provide advanced vRAN systems.
“The combination of Samsung's vRAN and Intel's 4th Gen Xeon Scalable processors deliver increased capacity for vRAN workloads, meaning the same number of servers can accommodate more cells or cell sites,” a Samsung spokesperson told Silverlinings.
Intel and Samsung have been working together on the virtualized coalface for over five years already.
“Samsung and Intel have been collaborating on vRAN innovation since 2017,” the spokesperson noted.The companies have already delivered integrated solutions, using Intel’s previous generation processor, the 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processor, in a range of tier one operators’ commercial networks in the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan. Notably this includes Verizon in the U.S., Vodafone in the U.K. and KDDI in Japan.
Samsung said that it believed that the integrated silicon and software would “encourage operators to transition” to the latest chips and vRAN code.
Getting operators to move to the very latest Xeon processors in the cellular space would be good for Intel, which saw a drop of 38% in revenue year-on-year in in its telecom-focused Network and Edge division in the second quarter of 2023. The chipmaker is still recognized as the king of the vRAN arena but rivals like Marvell and Qualcomm are starting to move into the market.
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