Samsung has moved to advance its 5G wireless network push with the recent commencement of lab and field tests that use the South Korean tech giant’s pre-commercial 28GHz (mmWave) system and devices at several sites in the United States in collaboration with Charter Communications. Part of the field trials also involve 4G LTE wireless network testing in support of Charter Communications’ Mobile Virtual Network Operator wireless strategy that is set for official launch next year. Craig Cowden, Senior Vice President for Wireless Technology at Charter Communications, said the trials offer insights into how the company’s high speed network can enable 5G services and added that the 4G small cell technology tests support the Stamford, Connecticut-based telecommunications firm’s wireless push. Samsung and Charter Communications are carrying out the 4G network trials at 3.5GHz (CBRS) and both companies are in the process of assessing its mobile use cases using Samsung’s 4G LTE small cell technology.
According to Mark Louison, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Networks at Samsung Electronics America, the partnership comes in conjunction with Charter Communications’ effort to assess its next-generation 5G and 4G wireless network technologies, adding that these initiatives are meant to pave the way for business models and customer applications that would leverage the full use of 4G LTE and 5G wireless networks in the future. The 5G and 4G trials kicked off in the summer and the team expects to complete the tests by the end of the year. Samsung says the long-term goal is to connect devices worldwide while providing rich connectivity experiences with low latency gigabit speeds. More to the point, Samsung hopes for its 5G and 4G LTE technologies to usher in a new era of mobile application development and Internet of Things, having been receiving patents that involve 5G standards. Additionally, the Seoul-based company is also showcasing a bevy of new 5G technologies at the ongoing Mobile World Congress (MWC) Americas 2017 held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
The 5G trials with Charter Communications are just the latest step in Samsung’s initiatives to deepen its stake in the next-generation wireless network. Last week, Samsung successfully completed a 5G data transmission technology trial that used Millimeter Wave spectrum in partnership with Japanese telecom company KDDI.