San Juan, Puerto Rico - December 3, 2024 – Liberty announced today it is collaborating with Samsung Networks Latin America to test Samsung’s O-RAN compliant virtualized Radio Access Network (vRAN) and radios in its mobile network in Puerto Rico. Liberty is the first telecom operator in Puerto Rico and Latin America to introduce 5G vRAN and Open RAN technologies.
With this new and agile architecture, Liberty customers can benefit from high-performing and reliable mobile connectivity. In addition, Liberty can reinforce and expand its 5G mobile network easier and faster with less hardware equipment while maintaining the same high quality of service. With Liberty's 5G population coverage reaching 97.5% in Puerto Rico, 5G vRAN and Open RAN technologies will be significant additions to Liberty to further enhance its mobile network.
Samsung's software-based vRAN will help Liberty to virtualize the RAN processing and its functionalities in an elastic cloud environment. This will allow the company to benefit from enhanced capability for optimized performance, improved energy efficiency, and a flexible architecture to introduce new technologies and services more quickly.
vRAN is the software-based network that virtualizes the RAN functionalities that were traditionally performed on hardware. It enables operators to optimize RAN deployment and facilitate management, which results in greater efficiency, lower operational costs, better resource allocation control, and increased customer satisfaction.
“The biggest advantage of vRAN and Open RAN is that it allows us to be more agile. By having the cell site information processing centralized in Liberty’s cloud-native data center and leveraging the latest software-centric solutions, the implementation, maintenance, and troubleshooting is a lot easier for operators to handle at a single location,” said Víctor Vera, senior director of RAN technology at Liberty. “This is especially valuable when it comes to recovery efforts during a natural disaster or emergency situations.”
Vera added, “partnering with Samsung to introduce vRAN is yet another way that Liberty innovates for the benefit of its subscribers. By investing in cutting-edge technologies that strengthens and enhances our mobile network, we can deliver a world-class mobile service that enables our customers to do more whenever they want and wherever they are.”
“vRAN and Open RAN are cutting-edge technologies that are driving innovation in commercial networks and further bolstering 5G capabilities. Samsung has long been a pioneer in the path towards next-generation networks,” said Carlos Alberto Aguilar Palafox, Head of Samsung Networks Latin America. “It’s an exciting step to introduce vRAN and Open RAN to Puerto Rico with Liberty and a meaningful collaboration that we hope to further build on in the future.”
The companies have successfully tested both vRAN and Open RAN technologies with excellent results, validating the telco-grade performance and reliability of multi-vendor Open RAN technology, powered by Samsung’s vRAN solutions.
Samsung has been leading the large-scale vRAN and Open RAN commercial network rollouts with global Tier 1 operators across North America (the U.S. and Canada), Europe and Asia. Its innovative solutions help operators build a more flexible, intelligent and sustainable network. As a member of the O-RAN Alliance, Samsung is continuing its commitment to advance fully virtualized networks and expand its robust Open RAN ecosystem with industry leaders.