What you need to know
- Dish Network Corporation has entered an agreement with Samsung Electronics to provide the carrier with network technology for its SMART 5G network.
- Samsung is providing 5G and RAN solutions, vRAN software, and radios for Dish's network.
- Samsung will also make compatible 5G devices for Dish retail customers.
Samsung Electronics and Dish Network Corporation have announced an agreement for Samsung to provide Open Radio Access Network solutions for Dish's SMART 5G network. Samsung's 5G O-RAN-compliant virtualized RAN solutions and radio units will be used in Dish's network across the country. Samsung will also be working with Dish to provide vRAN software solutions.
In addition to software, Samsung will be providing radios to the carrier including Massive MIMO radios. Samsung's vRAN can work with any commercial off-the-shelf server with performance on par with hardware-based equipment. Dish's Open RAN deployment will allow for multi-vendor interoperability and various deployment scenarios. Naturally, Samsung is supporting all of DISH's FDD and TDD spectrum bands including n71, n29, n66, n70, n48, and n77.
President and chief operating officer of Dish Wireless, John Swieringa said of the deal:
"Samsung’s 5G solutions will play an integral role in our network expansion, giving us the flexibility to deploy our cloud-native network with software-based solutions that support advanced services and operational scalability. We look forward to working with Samsung, whose industry leadership in vRAN and O-RAN innovation will help support our vision of delivering open, interoperable cloud-based 5G services to consumers and enterprises across the U.S."
Samsung will also provide Dish's retail customers with 5G devices that can connect to Dish's SMART 5G network. Having devices that support Dish's full 5G network will be key to the carrier being able to compete in 5G coverage. This is especially important as the carrier doesn't have a 3G or LTE network to fall back on while it fills in coverage gaps as AT&T, T-Mobile, UScellular, and Verizon have had. Dish has also been testing its network on the Galaxy S22 from Samsung, one of the best Android phones you can get.
Executive vice president of the Mobile Business at Samsung Electronics America, Jude Buckley said:
"Our work with DISH Wireless is bringing many of Samsung’s innovative mobile products and services to even more customers on the DISH network. We are excited to continue to work together to bring Samsung’s powerful mobile products and services, which are compatible with the DISH network, to more customers."
