Key Drivers for Korea's 5G Success (Part Two)

In Korea, most radio network equipments are installed on rooftops, as most of the population are in dense urban areas where there are often not enough spaces to establish new cell towers. In addition, activated cell sites already have 2G, 3G and 4G network equipments installed. Therefore, Korean mobile operators placed tight requirements to fit 5G equipment on existing sites. Samsung successfully designed and delivered slim and compact solutions to meet the demands of the operators.

The compact form factor of a product is an important aspect of installation. Even with a massive number of antennas integrated, Samsung’s 32T32R Massive MIMO radio is still slim and compact, enabling ease of replacement in conventional cell sites that already contain a full range of 2G, 3G and 4G equipments. The company’s 32T32R Massive MIMO radio is in fact, one of the smallest and lightest units in the industry, weighing less than 25kg (55lbs), and requires less manpower during installation. Of all the 5G radio solutions Samsung provided to the Korean operators, the Massive MIMO radio accounts for nearly 90% of the total.

Samsung’s easy-to-deploy solutions played a key role in enabling fast 5G commercialization in Korea.

The 8T8R Radio is a highly cost-effective solution for 5G services in roads, tunnels and rural areas. Samsung’s 8T8R Radio supports a variety of configurations for efficient deployments. A single radio can also support two 4T4R sectors or four 2T2R sectors. From a future-proof perspective, the 8T8R unit can be easily upgraded via software when mobile devices with eight antennas arrive in the market.

Deliver on the Promise of 5G Transformation with Samsung’s Solutions

Samsung offers a portfolio of 5G solutions that ensure optimized performance in a variety of deployment environments, ranging from urban to rural.

As a result, the Korean operators can develop highly successful strategies that meet customer demands and network coverage needs while assuring cost efficiency in deployment and operation.

Korean operators are now preparing for the next wave of 5G commercialization: mmWave. Samsung has already successfully delivered mmWave to the US. Leveraging this commercialization experience, Samsung will help the Korean operators in introducing 5G mmWave services.

In the next part of the series, we will explore the immersive services powered by 5G.