Samsung, DISH Wireless launch virtual Open RAN 5G network

Nine months after the leading US network provider selected the comms tech firm to deliver fully virtualised and Open RAN-compliant 5G services to support the advance of what is being called America’s first smart network, DISH Network Corporation has announced the beginning of Samsung’s role in its nationwide wireless 5G network roll-out.

With Samsung supplying an initial shipment of 24,000 Open RAN-compliant radios and 5G virtualised RAN (vRAN) software offerings, the companies are accelerating the DISH network deployment across the US, which is poised to provide fast and reliable nationwide coverage to its wireless network users.

Since the announcement of their multi-year agreement in May 2022, DISH Wireless and Samsung have steadily advanced their collaboration, progressing from field tests to successfully activating the first live Samsung sites in the DISH Wireless 5G network.

For this latest roll-out, Samsung provided its portfolio of 5G services, including its virtualised distributed unit, virtualised central unit and Open RAN-compliant 5G radios, which support the DISH spectrum bands.

Samsung also built new dual-band and tri-band Open RAN-compliant radios specific for this deployment. Deployment and testing of the Samsung-supported sites for the DISH 5G network is underway.

“Samsung is a key player in the DISH Wireless Open RAN ecosystem, created in collaboration with additional Open RAN leaders such as Dell, VMware, AWS and others,” said Marc Rouanne, executive vice-president and chief network officer at DISH Wireless.

“Samsung’s 5G vRAN solutions and our shared innovation process allow DISH Wireless to continue the DISH 5G multi-vendor, open and interoperable cloud-native network buildout, as we progress to covering 70% of the US population.”

Junehee Lee, executive vice-president and head of global sales and marketing for Samsung Networks, said: “DISH Wireless is an innovator in mobile technologies and we are thrilled to reach new heights of connectivity together, validating the immense potential that virtualisation and openness can bring to the industry.

“This milestone advances the wide-scale deployment of Samsung’s vRAN in the US, and we look forward to continuing our work with DISH Wireless to accelerate 5G expansion and lead the delivery of next-generation connectivity across the country.”