Telus and Samsung partner to build Canada's first commercial 5G vRAN, Open RAN network

Canadian operator TELUS and Samsung Electronics have forged a strategic partnership to build the country's first commercial virtualized and open radio access network (RAN). The companies are expanding their collaboration from greenfield (new builds) to brownfield (existing infrastructure) deployments.

"TELUS and Samsung have been spearheading a meaningful transformation in mobile communications and we look forward to continuing to unleash the full benefits of software-centric innovation, by advancing our industry-leading vRAN and Open RAN," said Junehee Lee, Executive Vice President, Head of Global Sales & Marketing, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics.

The expanded partnership will see Samsung providing its versatile vRAN software and proven Open RAN-compliant solutions, including its 64T64R Massive MIMO radios, and support for third-party radio integration. Samsung's vRAN 3.0 and Open RAN solutions feature enhanced capabilities for improved energy savings, optimized performance and intelligent automation via Samsung's Service Management and Orchestration (SMO).

With Open RAN, TELUS can use components from various manufacturers that best meet its needs, while a vRAN allows the use of software instead of hardware. This ensures quicker access to the latest technologies, enhancing customer experiences and fueling network innovation while increasing opportunities for equipment vendors.

TELUS and Samsung have conducted extensive testing of their vRAN and Open RAN solutions in select Canadian markets. These trials have successfully demonstrated the telco-grade performance and reliability of Open RAN technology, setting the stage for commercial deployment and a large-scale network rollout starting in mid-2024, the South Korean firm said in a statement on Thursday.

"This is a very exciting milestone for TELUS and the industry overall, as we now have the most flexible way to offer a diversified set of services to Canadians, unlocking new levels of mobile experiences. We are proud to be the first Canadian telecommunications company to integrate this cutting-edge technology, together with Samsung and our other partners," said Nazim Benhadid, Chief Technology Officer at TELUS.