Samsung continues to make European radio access network (RAN) inroads, taking advantage of the continents expanding push toward open RAN and virtualized RAN (vRAN) systems.

Samsung’s latest success is with Germany’s O2 Telefónica, which is working to lab and field test open RAN and vRAN components in support of its 5G network. The tests will begin in the operator’s labs in Munich, and then be installed on its commercial 5G network in Landsberg am Lech.

The multi-vendor tests include Samsung’s vRAN software and open RAN-compliant radios that include support for 3.5 GHz spectrum using massive multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) antennas, Dell Technologies’ PowerEdge servers running Intel Xeon processors and Wind River’s Cloud Platform. The test will also use Samsung’s service management and orchestration (SMO) to test automated deployment of network radios.

Thomas Riedel, head of Samsung Networks Europe, explained in an email to SDxCentral that the testing would include 4G LTE and 5G downlink and uplink performance “to prove the capability of open RAN, and meet or exceed the performance of legacy hardware-based RAN.”

This performance parity has been a big focus of telecom operators, including Telefónica. The operator is part of a consortium that has been releasing regular updates on the maturity and performance metrics of open RAN systems. It’s most recent was tied to open RAN advances in meeting challenges tied to maturity, security and energy efficiency.

Samsung’s O2 Telefónica deal follows one this summer with Vodafone in the United Kingdom. That agreement brought Samsung officially onboard to supply Vodafone vRAN and open RAN equipment toward that operator’s goal of deploying 2,500 disaggregated cell sites across the United Kingdom by 2027.

Both deals align with Samsung’s stated goal of bolstering what has been a sagging network infrastructure business. The technology giant this week reported modest earnings but stated disappointment with its “networks business.”

That was underscored by these comments: “The networks business will seek to secure new orders in overseas markets,” and “the networks business will aim to increase revenue by seeking business opportunities overseas and reinforcing technology leadership in core 5G chips and [vRAN] solutions.”

Riedel noted that while the European market is fragmented by different country regulations, “the requirements are in fact similar.”

“Each region has some specific challenges in both testing and deployments of vRAN and open RAN, including the European region,” Riedel said. “For instance, the way spectrum is regulated has particularities across countries in Europe, and operators have different requirements in terms of how they manage and operate their networks.”

He also stated that Europe’s close borders require operators to more closely manage roaming and network interoperability “to ensure seamless, high-quality experiences as travel occurs across regions.”

He added that this is also helped by the programmable nature of Samsung’s recently launched vRAN 3.0 platform. Analysts have noted that platform aligns well with operators looking to integrate vRAN and open RAN into legacy brownfield deployments.

“The release of vRAN 3.0 comes at a good time, as Samsung is extending its vRAN solutions to this major ‘brownfield’ opportunity,” Joe Madden, founder and chief analyst at Mobile Experts, previously told SDxCentral. A brownfield deployment means that an already established operators is integrating new technology into its operations as opposed to a “greenfield” deployment, which would indicate an entirely new network deployment.

“In our view, it is not a question of whether open RAN will happen, but when each operator or vendor will adopt it,” Riedel noted of Samsung’s open RAN progress. “From this perspective, the earlier operators embrace open RAN and migrate their networks, the better prepared they will be for the future.”