Samsung wins $1 billion deal from Dish to supply 5G equipment

Samsung said on Tuesday that it has been selected by US network operator Dish to supply 5G network solutions.

The pair’s collaboration began earlier this year and the multi-year contract is worth over $1 billion, the South Korean tech giant said in a statement sent to ZDNet.

It’s Samsung’s second-largest deal in the US to supply network equipment so far. In 2020, the company won a deal worth $6.6 billion from US carrier Verizon to supply 4G and 5G network equipment.

Under its latest agreement with Dish, Samsung will be supplying its Open RAN-compliant solutions for the carrier’s 5G rollout.

These solutions include 5G and RAN equipment, virtualized RAN software, and Open RAN radio units including massive MIMO radios, the South Korean tech giant said.

Dish had previously told US regulators that it plans to provide coverage for 20% of the US population and 70% by 2023.

Additionally, Dish and Samsung’s partnership also includes selling 5G smartphones and devices for retail customers.

Meanwhile, South Korean telco KT, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, said in its latest 2021 fiscal-year filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, that it required more bandwidth for broader expansion of 5G coverage in South Korea.

At the same time, the risk posed from its current license payments to the government for bandwidth use — in which it paid 603 billion won for in 2021 — and additional investment expected to upgrade its 5G network may adversely affect its business, the telco said.

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