Samsung Introduces Its New Open and Fully Virtualized 5G RAN

Samsung is the latest supplier to declare open season on the radio access network (RAN). Samsung on Tuesday introduced new 5G RAN equipment products that, the company claims, are both fully open and fully virtualized. That means the products could potentially be mixed and matched with equipment from other vendors, and run on any x86 hardware. "Samsung is a big believer in open systems," explained Alok Shah, Samsung's VP of strategy, marketing and business development. "It's what our customers are asking for." Shah said Samsung's new 5G RAN products comprise a virtualized Central Unit (vCU), a virtualized Distributed Unit (vDU) and a wide range of radio units. He explained that Samsung first virtualized its CU in April last year, and now is offering a virtualized DU. Shah added that the company has also been offering open access to its products for more than a year, a position, he points out, that has been highlighted by tests with AT&T and Verizon.