Samsung Electronics announced at MWC Los Angeles 2019 its new 5G New Radio (NR) Access Unit (AU) supporting 28GHz spectrum. This new AU brings together a radio, antenna and digital unit into one compact box, making it the industry’s first integrated radio for mmWave spectrum, compliant to the 3GPP NR standard. The new Access Unit is on display at the Samsung Booth (South Hall #1228).

Earlier this year, Samsung Networks successfully deployed its first-generation 5G NR radio base stations in the U.S. with separated radio and digital units (RU-DU separated radio). By integrating these RU-DU technologies with 1,024 antenna elements for mmWave spectrum into one compact box, the new AU can be more easily installed on streetlight poles and building walls, providing operators a faster, simplified way to build out 5G networks.

The AU is able to deliver an industry-leading capacity of 10Gbps throughput, enabling operators to deliver higher 5G NR speeds to more users. Additionally, improved cost-efficiency is achieved by eliminating the need for ‘fronthaul’ fiber connections, thanks to the AU’s integration of the digital unit. Samsung is currently shipping the new AU to a leading U.S. Tier One mobile network operator.

“Samsung has a long history of network innovation. Our innovative spirit has led us to introduce next generation technologies and open up a new 5G era,” said Paul Kyungwhoon Cheun, Executive Vice President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “Cultivating mmWave spectrum provides infinite opportunities by unlocking 5G’s full potential. We’re excited to advance the industry by offering a new vision and diverse options to our customers around the world.”

New SoC Modem Increases 5G’s Efficiency

Additional innovations to Samsung’s new AU are made possible by Samsung’s in-house 5G RF chipset, announced earlier this year and the company’s first 5G NR system-on-a-chip (SoC) modem (S9100), announced during the conference. This chipset enables an approximate 25 percent reduction in size, weight and power consumption, when compared to the same solution without an embedded 5G RF chipset. The AU’s new 5G NR modem substantially increases power efficiency.

Expanding 5G Spectrum Capabilities

In addition to launching the new AU, Samsung is expanding its 5G portfolio to help operators have a wider choice in selecting radio solutions for different deployment scenarios. The company currently has commercial solutions for 2.5GHz, 3.5-4.1GHz, 26-28GHz and 39GHz and today launched a new 5G RFIC chip for the 24-27GHz spectrum, which will support new radios in 2020. The 5G portfolio now includes a mix of integrated and non-integrated architectures as well as transceiver paths (4T4R and 2T2R) to meet multiple deployment scenarios for operators – outdoor pole-mount, strand-mount, in-building, and others.