Samsung and Cisco team with Verizon

NEW DELHI: Samsung Electronics America and Cisco in partnership with Verizon have announced the successful deployment of the first multi-vendor end-to-end 5G trial network in the field, which took place in Ann Arbor, a suburb of metropolitan Detroit, Michigan.

Earlier this year, Verizon announced plans for customer trials of 5G technology for home broadband service (Fixed Wireless Access). Five U.S. cities are scheduled to begin trials in the second quarter of 2017, with pilot trials in a total of 11 markets expected by the middle of the year.

Each location offers a unique set of test parameters, including vendors, geographies, population densities and demographics, and the Ann Arbor location is the first to tackle a multi-vendor deployment of 5G. The solution includes a 5G virtualized packet core as part of the Cisco Ultra Services Platform with Cisco Advanced Services and Samsung virtual RAN solutions (vRAN), paired with Samsung’s 5G Radio base stations and 5G home routers that will deliver broadband services to Verizon’s trial customers.

Based on Verizon’s 5G Technical Forum specification, the three companies followed a series of comprehensive network vendor interoperability tests (NVIOT) that demonstrated seamless interworking between core network, radio edge and user devices that showcased a core principle of next-generation network virtualization via multi-vendor support.

This trial highlights the readiness of key 5G technologies, paving the way for deployment of commercial 5G networks. This also demonstrates that service providers can deploy 5G networks specialized to their unique market needs by selecting individual network infrastructure components from a selection of multiple vendors.

“We are excited about the rapid progression of 5G technology with our 5G Technology Forum partners,” said Adam Koeppe, Vice President of Network Planning at Verizon.

“Interoperability, a key milestone towards 5G commercialization, allows for highly flexible network design to meet emerging 5G use cases," added Koeppe.

“Our collaboration with Samsung and Verizon for the first of many 5G trials, marks an important industry milestone for interoperability and diversified service offerings,” said Yvette Kanouff, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Service Provider Business, Cisco.

“We are also making history on the path towards true Network Function Virtualization (NFV), demonstrating it for the first time in a 5G environment," added Kanouff.

“We’re very excited about the possibilities this opens up in terms of network architectures, particularly in view of 5G’s aim to connect new industries and empower unique service scenarios,” said Woojune Kim, Vice President and Head of Next Generation Strategy, Samsung Electronics.

“A shift towards Network Function Virtualization creates new opportunities in the industry value chain, enabling collaboration with pioneering industry leaders to bring greater value to consumers and businesses," added Kim.

"5G success depends on developing a framework that is not only comprehensive but also ensures a frictionless end-to-end convergence of radio access and packet core 5G architecture," says Sathya Atreyam, Research Manager, 5G and IoT Infrastructure, IDC.

"Equally important is to ensure the 5G architecture natively supports programmability and real time resource partitioning for tomorrow's massive connectivity and extensive coverage requirements," added Atreyam.

Early ecosystem development has become a core focus for 5G, with IT and telecom pioneers alike working to build alignment and stability around next-generation R &D. Verizon’s 5G Technical Forum, to which Cisco and Samsung are strong contributors, has set out to establish early direction for commercial 5G technologies and services, with the goal of establishing a body of experience that is already being used to inform global 5G standards development efforts and ensure a smooth transition to commercialization.