Samsung is aiming to address end-to-end network support needs and accelerate 5G rollouts in the U.S. with its acquisition of network services provider TeleWorld Solutions (TWS).
Financial terms of the deal, announced today, have not been disclosed.
Chantilly, Virginia-based TWS offers a range of network services including consulting, site acquisition, design, deployment, dimensioning, testing and optimization, among others. The company’s expertise spans a variety of technologies and locations including macro- and small cell sites, distributed antenna system (DAS) venues, LTE, Wi-Fi and IoT.
Samsung called out TWS’ skills in radio frequency (RF) and network design service in particular, and said the company’s offerings and customers complement Samsung’s growth with network infrastructure customers.
Samsung has been growing its networking presence in the United States as a 5G vendor, and alongside Ericsson and Nokia, has 5G contracts with major carriers, including Verizon, AT&T and Sprint.
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“The acquisition of TWS will enable us to meet mobile carriers’ growing needs for improving their 4G and 5G networks, and eventually create new opportunities to enhance our service capabilities to our customers,” said Paul Kyungwhoon Cheun, Executive Vice President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics, in a statement. “Samsung will continue to drive innovation in communications technology, while providing optimization services for network deployments that accelerate U.S. 5G network expansion.”
Samsung said its acquisition will help address the need for end-to-end support for network solutions and increased network demands from customers as mobile usage continues to grow. The company also pointed specifically to the demand for new enterprise cellular networks.
“As [Samsung’s] growth continues through network operator agreements and enterprises seeking their own cellular networks, the combination of Samsung and TWS will help customers address next-generation demands,” Samsung said in its announcement.
TWS already counts mobile service and cable operators and equipment OEMs, among others, as clients across the U.S., according to Samsung.
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TWS also caters to network needs for enterprise, media, automotive and government industries. On its website, the company names a long list of partners including all four major U.S. carriers, tower company Crown Castle, cable companies Comcast, Altice and Cox Communications, vendors Ericsson and Nokia, and other wireless players like Ligado Networks, Boingo, Airspan, Federated Wireless, and ExteNet Systems.
TWS will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics America, and continue to be managed by its current leadership team. TWS’ engineering leadership roster all have previous experience working for mobile carriers, including Sprint and U.S. Cellular.
“Everyone at TeleWorld Solutions is excited to be part of the Samsung family,” said Shervin Gerami, CEO of TeleWorld Solutions, in a statement. “The advent of 5G and the amount of new spectrum coming into the U.S. market requires scale and innovation for the next generation of wireless technologies. Joining forces with Samsung will accelerate innovation to help our customers fulfill their needs for network strategy, deployment, and automation.”
RELATED: TeleWorld launches online marketplace for small cells
In 2016, TWS launched SmallCellSite.com, an online marketplace that aims to connect mobile operators and property owners to ease the buying and installation of small cell locations, which won CTIA’s Emerging Technology Award for the In-building Wireless category that year. It later launched a jurisdictional database, which used to catalog zoning and permitting requirements around the U.S.
By 2018, TWS said it had deployed and engineered more than 5,000 turnkey small cells in the U.S., claiming to reduce deployment times by up to 50%.