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Samsung, Vodafone, and Orange unleash 4G revolution in Rural Romania
Samsung in collaboration with Europe’s Vodafone and Orange completed the first 4G calls over shared commercial networks in rural areas of Romania. By leveraging Samsung’s vRAN, both operators can take advantage of the greater flexibility and innovation brought by the Open RAN ecosystem.
Following Vodafone UK’s Open RAN deployment and the successful integration tests in Orange’s Open RAN lab in France, Samsung provided its multi-RAT vRAN software as well as Open RAN-compliant radios for this initiative.
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As part of their pilot project, both operators have already achieved successful 4G calls over their respective Open RAN sharing sites and will soon introduce 2G, which has already been tested successfully in the lab, and then 5G.
It will be the first time 2G is fully integrated within a commercial Open RAN sharing environment in Europe. RAN sharing will help advance wide-scale Open RAN adoption in Europe.
As per official confirmation from Samsung, the Android 15-based One UI 7.0 Beta program has been delayed until late 2024. I wanted to see how the Samsung Galaxy phone owners feel about this wait.
As a writer and proud Samsung Galaxy device owner, I recently conducted a poll on X (previously known as Twitter) that sparked quite a conversation among the Team Galaxy: “Can you switch to another brand just because Samsung delayed the One UI 7.0 beta program?” The results were telling — over 75% of participants voted ‘No‘, indicating a strong brand loyalty that persists even in the current situation. The poll result shows that the delay hasn’t turned away the majority of Galaxy users.
Note: The poll was small but it proved the point that the Galaxy phone users are loyal despite the delayed One UI 7.0 beta program. Check the post below.
There’s a different poll by another X user, who asked a similar question, where a bigger audience participated. It also produced the almost same result. You can check the post below.
It proves that Team Galaxy is strong and loyal to the brand. For the reader, who is not aware of the current progress, Samsung was expected to release the One UI 7.0 beta program by end of the July 2024.
However, Samsung decided to delay this beta program, without any official reason for this decision. As per discussion in the tech community and social media groups, Samsung is working on the stability and the integration of new features, which has significantly changed its update timelines this year.
Read More:
- Here’s why delaying the One UI 7.0 Beta Program is good for Samsung Galaxy users
- Why I will skip the first One UI 7.0 beta on my Galaxy S24 Ultra
Apple doesn’t want to enter the Samsung-led foldables market without technological uniqueness. The company has been absent from the rapidly growing foldable segment, which recently welcomed a triple foldable handset from Huawei.
According to Kipost, Apple is seeking its own supply chain of ultra-thin glass technology. The company desires to have its own control over some particular aspects. The move is to differentiate technological innovation from Samsung.
Samsung is expected to supply OLED panels for foldable Apple products. Ultra-thin glass, which is a crucial component in foldable screens, is largely controlled by Samsung D. The reason is the company’s saturation in the international market.
Apple doesn’t reportedly want everything to be done by display manufacturers. If it happens, the company won’t have anything to differentiate its product from rivals. The desire is necessary as Apple is already too late in the market.
Apart from ultra-thin glass, the US tech giant is looking to attain control over supply chain management too. The company is also exploring backplate technology, to ensure critical areas of demonization without any hurry.
UTG is a key material used in foldable displays, which is responsible for flexibility and durability. Backplate in foldable devices often refers to the component that supports the display, which should be durable for long-lasting products.
The report suggests Apple wants uniqueness in two crucial materials—UTG and backplates. This means Samsung Display won’t be able to breathe freely even after being the main foldable panel supplier for Apple’s future foldable devices.
Japan’s KDDI selected Samsung as the main vendor for 5G expansion. Samsung’s vRAN will be deployed by KDDI starting next year for 5G expansion. The company will provide 4G and 5G O-RAN-compliant vRAN solutions in Japan.
Samsung today confirmed selection by KDDI as a key 4G and 5G O-RAN compliant vRAN provider for their Open RAN deployment in Japan. The partnership with KDDI will help Samsung strengthen its role in Japan’s 5G expansion.
“Together with KDDI, we are thrilled to take this significant step and strengthen our presence in Japan,” said Junehee Lee, Executive Vice President, Head of Global Sales & Marketing, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics.
The South Korean tech giant noted that it’s bringing vRAN 3.0 solution, a full suite of O-RAN compliant radios supporting low- and mid-bands including advanced Massive MIMO radios and third-party radio integration support.
Kazuyuki Yoshimura, Chief Technology Officer of KDDI: “Today’s announcement represents KDDI’s dedication to bringing innovative technologies to Japan. We are proud to deliver a cutting-edge and reliable radio access network.”
Key features of Samsung CognitiV Networks Operations Suite (NOS) will also be offered. The features streamline the onboarding, deployment, and operation processes, enabling KDDI to transform its widespread network efficiently.
Beyond that Samsung and KDDI will expand the reach of Open RAN in the coming years. For now, KDDI’s Open RAN network will feature enhanced capabilities for improved energy efficiency, optimized performance, and intelligent automation.