- Vodafone selected Samsung as a partner for large-scale vRAN and open RAN deployments across Europe
- The gear spans 2G, 4G and 5G, with O-RAN radios, Massive MIMO and AI-powered network management
- Vodafone wants to deploy open RAN in 30% of its network by 2030
Samsung missed out on VodafoneThree’s RAN business in the U.K., but it’s getting a sizable piece of Vodafone’s open RAN business across Europe.
The South Korean vendor announced this week that it was named as a “key partner” by Vodafone for large-scale vRAN and open RAN deployments in multiple European countries.
“With this collaboration, Vodafone and Samsung are leading the open RAN momentum in the European market, underscoring the companies' efforts to transform the mobile network landscape,” Samsung stated.
The status of open RAN once again came into question last week after VodafoneThree said it would use Ericsson and Nokia to expand its 5G network in the U.K. – and it made no mention of open RAN. At the time, Samsung assured everyone that it will support Vodafone’s open RAN deployment across Europe, but the official announcement wouldn’t come until October.
Lo and behold, October is upon us, and Samsung’s selection is official.
Samsung’s deal spans generations
Drilling down, Samsung said it will provide Vodafone with its vRAN solution and O-RAN-compliant radios across 2G, 4G and 5G, including Massive MIMO radios. It also plans to deliver its AI-powered Samsung CognitiV Network Operations Suite, which will provide “full observability” across Vodafone’s network so that it can more intelligently and efficiently manage everything.
Both Vodafone and Samsung declined to provide further details, such as the value or exact geographical scope of the deal.
Vodafone has a stated vision of using open RAN in 30% of its network by 2030.
Open RAN foibles
Industry insiders are closely watching the progress of open RAN because the technology was pitched as a way to diversify supply chains and reduce reliance on big vendors like Ericsson and Nokia. But open RAN is progressing far more slowly than a lot of its early cheerleaders would like.
Dish Network, once the poster child of open RAN in the U.S., is decommissioning its network and selling off spectrum after failing as the fourth facilities-based U.S. carrier. And big incumbent operators like AT&T are awarding open RAN contracts to the Nordic vendors anyway – in AT&T’s case, it’s Ericsson.
In an interview last month, AT&T SVP and Network CTO Yigal Elbaz told Fierce that the only way open RAN is going to thrive is through established operators like AT&T – not greenfield operators like Dish. He insists that AT&T’s strategy is multi-vendor. Besides Ericsson, AT&T is using software and hardware from Fujitsu’s 1Finity division, Dell Technologies and Intel.
Open RAN evangelist John Baker, who worked for Mavenir for eight years, challenges the notion that Ericsson is a true open RAN vendor because it resists opening all of its interfaces to interoperate with other vendors.
Elbaz said what AT&T is getting from Ericsson meets their criteria. “They are open – as open as I want them to be,” he told Fierce.