It’s been more than a year since Samsung Electronics announced it was a supporting player in NTT DoCoMo’s 5G network build in Japan, and now Samsung is adding new radios – including 3.7, 4.5 and 28 GHz – to the 3.4 GHz radios it’s already supplying to DoCoMo.
The radios support NTT DoCoMo’s open Radio Access Network (RAN) expansion and cover all of the Time Division Duplex (TDD) spectrum bands held by the operator.
The companies report that they have been testing the interoperability of these new radios with basebands from various vendors in NTT DoCoMo’s commercial network environment.
“We have been collaborating with Samsung since the beginning of 5G and through our Open RAN expansion, and we are excited to continue extending our scope of vision together,” said Masafumi Masuda, VP and general manager of the Radio Access Network Development Department at NTT DoCoMo, in a press release. “Solidifying our global leadership, we will continue to build momentum around our Open RAN innovation and to provide highly scalable and flexible networks to respond quickly to the evolving demands of our customers.”
Satoshi Iwao, VP and head of the Network Division at Samsung Electronics Japan, said in the same press release that Japan is home to one of the world’s most densely populated areas, with numerous skyscrapers and complex infrastructure. Samsung’s radios meet demands for low-footprint, low-weight solutions while ensuring reliable service quality, he said.
Samsung also noted that with today’s announcement, it introduces its new 28 GHz radio unit (RU) as part of its portfolio of millimeter wave solutions. The new RU, which weighs less than 4.5 kg, or about 10 pounds, features a light and compact form factor with very low power consumption, enabling flexible deployments in various scenarios, according to Samsung.
Samsung’s 3.4 GHz, 3.7 GHz and 4.5 GHz radios are also open RAN-compliant.
Global RAN market
Last week, Dell’Oro Group said preliminary findings suggest the slower momentum that characterized the RAN market in the first half of 2022 extended into the third quarter.
The research for Q3 shows that the overall 2G-5G RAN market declined year-over-year for a second consecutive quarter, according to Dell’Oro.
For the third quarter, Samsung again ranked within the top five global RAN suppliers, which include Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia and ZTE.