Samsung Reveals FCC-Approved 5G Commercial Products Planned for Late 2018 Launch

Samsung today at Mobile World Congress revealed a new set of end-to-end 5G commercial solutions, which will launch later this year alongside Verizon's first commercial 5G network in the United States.

The 5G fixed wireless access solutions include "commercial form-factor" 5G home routers for both indoor and outdoor use, and Samsung said it used its own in-house technology to create the first commercial ASIC-based 5G modems and millimeter wave RFICs, "enabling the design of compact access units and CPEs."

The solutions also include a 5G Radio Access Network, and Samsung mentioned that each product has "already been proven through months of field trials in multiple markets."

Samsung has developed the world’s first complete commercial 5G FWA solutions, which includes: commercial form-factor 5G home routers (CPEs) for both indoors and outdoors, 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) comprised of a radio access unit and virtualized RAN, a next-generation core, as well as AI-powered 3D radio frequency planning tools and services.

“At MWC 2018, Samsung plans to show how our homes, cars and cities can be transformed by building user-centric 5G networks” said Youngky Kim, President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “Since the beginning of our 5G research in 2012, Samsung stood firm among industry players to trust in the potentials of the millimeter wave spectrum. Our efforts towards advancing this technology will see the light this year, making 5G a reality and opening up new territories’ possibilities for consumers, operators and enterprises.”

On February 23 the Federal Communications Commission approved Samsung's 5G access units, which the company said makes the devices the first 5G millimeter wave products in the world to be granted government regulatory approval. At MWC 2018, Samsung also plans to present its first 5G New Radio products supporting spectrum bands both below and above 6GHz, which will be compliant with the 3rd Generation Partnership Project's Release 15 plan, delivering the first set of 5G standards for the industry.

All of Samsung's product announcements today follow an announcement earlier in the year that confirmed the company will be providing Verizon with commercial 5G home routers and other devices to help fuel the carrier's 5G network rollout. This is said to begin in Sacramento, California in the second half of 2018 and expand from there.

Besides Verizon, most other carriers have announced tests or plans to introduce a 5G network in the near future, including AT&T and T-Mobile. Late in January, a new report suggested that the United States federal government was looking into building a centralized 5G wireless network across the country, which would fundamentally alter the way that communications networks are implemented by having the government "rent access to carriers."

For Apple, the first iPhone that could support 5G is believed to be coming through a partnership between Apple and Intel.