[Photo Essay] 5G World Summit

During his keynote speech on June 12, Wonil Roh, Vice President and Head of Technology Strategy Group, Networks Business of Samsung Electronics, shared Samsung's latest progress and made it clear that 5G is no longer a far-off pipedream but a reality that will launch in the USA this year with Fixed Wireless Access (FWA). 

Samsung has a long involvement in developing 5G and this experience has helped the company to gain deep insights into the technology. As a way of showcasing the rate of advancement in the technology, Mr. Roh shared the lessons learnt from many years of research and trials using mmWave and sub-6 GHz spectrums. One of these research points was evidence showing that mmWave can offer good coverage, often to a distance beyond 1 kilometer.

Mr. Roh also detailed the numerous field tests Samsung has conducted showing that mmWave can overcome limitations traditionally associated with non-line-of-sight, foliage, wall and glass penetration, as well as high-speed mobility. This was all delivered as part of the keynote which addressed the myths and concerns around the use of mmWave. 

Looking deeper into the research results, there was one case study in particular from South Korea that provided intrigue. The results from the trial conducted in downtown Seoul appeared especially promising, showing that mmWave access units collocated with LTE sites provided the equivalent of 99% LTE outdoor coverage when the CPE was mounted on a car and 94% when the receiver was a prototype handheld tablet. Needless to say, the throughput achieved using mmWave was several times higher than when LTE was used.

On June 13, Notker Gerlich, Head of Technology and Strategy of Samsung Networks Europe, represented Samsung for the "Pioneering 5G Trial Networks" panel.

Mr Gerlich shared his insights on early mmWave trials conducted by Samsung around the world and explained how the company has validated fundamental features such as high-speed mobility, mobile handovers and LTE-5G interoperability. He stressed that much work remains to be done to make 5G a reality, and called upon vendors to take responsibility for cooperation and ensuring interoperability. He also stressed that governments and regulators have also a key role to play in accelerating spectrum allocation.

He added that while Samsung has been focusing on early adopters of 5G such as the USA, Korea and Japan, the company's future plans center on enlarging its scope of action globally - as demonstrated by ongoing and upcoming trials in Europe and Africa. 

Last to join the stage from Samsung was Daniel Borras, Head of Marketing & Business Strategy of Samsung Networks Europe, who "peeked into the networks of tomorrow" to discuss what we can expect from the next generation mobile networks. 

Mr. Borras began by elaborating on the critical role of new spectrums, in particular higher frequencies with wide bandwidth availability. He added that Samsung's long-term exploration in this field has allowed the company to be at the forefront in terms of 5G commercialization: providing equipment for what will be known as the world's first 5G FWA commercial launch in the USA this year.

He concluded by giving an overview of the wide range of services to be enabled by 5G across the world, including fixed broadband for homes, immersive experiences at sports events, faster connectivity and more advanced services on high speed trains, smart factories and smart cities, to name a few.