Samsung completes industry’s first end-to-end call on vRAN with future Intel Xeon processor

Samsung has completed the industry's first end-to-end call with a future Intel Xeon processor on a virtualized Open RAN network powered by Samsung's vRAN 3.0. The results will be demonstrated at the upcoming Mobile World Congress 2024 tech event in Barcelona.

The trial was completed in Samsung's R&D lab in Korea using Samsung's versatile and O-RAN-compliant virtualized RAN (vRAN) integrated with Intel's Granite Rapids-D, Samsung's Core and test devices. During the test, the companies achieved significant gains as well as reduced power consumption.

"As a global vRAN innovator with proven commercial deployments at scale, Samsung is committed to expanding its ecosystem with industry-leading partners like Intel and staying at the forefront of the software-centric transformation. This first call represents Samsung's unparalleled ability to deliver the full potential of mobile networks for the future by embracing a virtual and open approach," said Dong Geun Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of Technology Strategy Group, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics.

Commenting on this milestone, Cristina Rodriguez, vice president and general manager, Wireless Access Networking Division at Intel, said, "Completing the first call on Granite Rapids D far ahead of its general availability is a remarkable achievement and is a strong reflection of Samsung's and Intel's close collaboration over many years. We remain committed to driving our multi-generational Intel® Xeon® processor roadmap to deliver the solutions operators need, and to enable new innovations in areas like energy efficiency, vRAN capacity, and AI."

The collaboration between Samsung and Intel goes beyond the integration of Samsung vRAN software on Granite Rapids-D. The two tech giants are joining forces to drive AI innovations in radio networks toward enabling potential future RAN use cases such as power optimization, traffic steering and improved spectral efficiency and anomaly detection, among others.