Samsung Selected to Power Wi-Fi Connectivity Using 5G mmWave for Subways in Seoul, South Korea

SEOUL, Korea – March 1, 2022 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. announced today it has signed contracts with all three Korean mobile operators to supply its 5G mmWave network solutions and boost connectivity for passengers on the Seoul subway system. This year, the companies will bring enhanced Wi-Fi services to fast-moving subway trains and on station platforms by using Samsung’s 5G mmWave solutions, including its Compact Macro, as Wi-Fi backhaul. This achievement follows the successful demonstration that took place in September 2021.

Over 3.6 million passengers use the Seoul subway daily across over 300 stations. With a population of 9.6 million, Seoul is one of the world’s most densely populated cities, with its subway serving as one of the major means of public transportation for the busy metropolitan area. The subway system is expansive, resembling a spider web network that connects Seoul and the surrounding areas, carrying over 30 percent of the city’s population.

While the Seoul subway system has already been providing stable 5G (3.5GHz), 4G and Wi-Fi services, mobile data demands in subways continue to rise exponentially as Korea’s monthly average 5G data consumption reaches approximately 25GB per person¹.

Next-Gen Services for Subway Passengers
Later this year, Samsung’s 5G mmWave solutions will enable the subway’s Wi-Fi services to meet increasing data demands by leveraging mmWave’s wide bandwidth, extensive capacity and massive throughput. Subway passengers will be able to enjoy bandwidth-intensive applications such as high-speed, superior-quality streaming for live sports games, movies, mobile games and video communications. These will be delivered at Wi-Fi speeds up to ten times faster on average than currently provided.

“Samsung has been committed to mmWave innovation, and we see it as a transformative technology that will strengthen 5G network performance,” said Seungil Kim, Vice President and Head of Korea Business, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “We look forward to helping elevate the public transportation experience in Seoul with mobile operators by using 5G mmWave to give subway passengers an enhanced connectivity experience, even on fast-moving subway trains.”

In addition to transforming the daily mobile experience for subway users, Samsung’s advanced 5G mmWave solutions will drive a diversified range of use cases and business opportunities for new entrepreneurs, app development startups and consumers. Utilizing mmWave bandwidth can not only bring to life next-generation services such as the metaverse, cloud gaming and Extended Reality (XR) remote learning, but it can also be expanded beyond transportation to industries like retail, medicine, media and entertainment.

A Pioneer in mmWave Research
Samsung has been conducting ongoing research and development on mmWave for over a decade. Samsung deployed the world’s first 5G FWA commercial solutions in October 2018 in the U.S and continues to verify 5G mmWave with operators around the globe. Recently, the company achieved the industry’s fastest 5G download speed of 8.08Gbps using a combination of 800MHz of 5G 28GHz spectrum and 100MHz of mid-band spectrum, together with New Radio Dual Connectivity (NR-DC).

A key component of the Seoul subway commercial deployment is Samsung’s mmWave 5G radio solution, Compact Macro, which brings together a baseband unit, radio and antenna in a single form factor. Optimized for mmWave 5G, it uses in-house modems, radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) and digital analog front end (DAFE) ASICs.

Samsung Networks has pioneered the successful delivery of 5G end-to-end infrastructure solutions including chipsets, radios, and core. Through ongoing research and development, Samsung drives the industry to advance 5G networks with its market-leading product portfolio, from fully virtualized RAN and Core to private network solutions and AI-powered automation tools. The company is currently providing network solutions to mobile operators that deliver connectivity to hundreds of millions of users around the world.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

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