Samsung and Microsoft have been long-time partners on various projects and technologies, including cloud services, Office 365, and Xbox. The two tech giants have now announced that they have joined hands to offer end-to-end, cloud-based private 5G network solutions.
The South Korean firm will deploy its 5G vRAN (Virtualized Radio Access Network), multi-access edge computing technologies, and virtualized core on Microsoft's Azure cloud platform. The company says that Azure will offer better security, which is of utmost importance for enterprises. Such networks could be rolled out in retail stores, smart factories, and stadiums.
Samsung said, “The collaboration highlights key benefits of cloud networks, which can accelerate 5G expansion for enterprises and help them deploy private 5G networks faster. Implementing fully-virtualized 5G solutions on a cloud platform also enables vast improvements in the scalability and flexibility of networks for mobile operators and enterprises.”
Samsung's 5G vRAN offers higher flexibility and scalability to brands that are deploying 5G networks. The solution replaces dedicated hardware-based baseband with general-purpose off-the-shelf servers, thereby improving networks' cost-effectiveness compared to standard 5G networks.
The South Korean firm wasn't a big player in the networks business, but since Huawei's struggles started, Samsung has been trying hard to expand its business. It recently closed big 5G network deployment deals with Verizon in the US, KDDI in Japan, and Telus in Canada.
