Samsung Network Infrastructure to Help Drive Sprint Network Vision Program through LTE Small Cell Deployment

Not everything is about Samsung and Apple – much as it seems to be the case. Samsung Telecommunications America is also a key provider of 3G and 4G network infrastructure. Most recently the company and Sprint have signed a deal for Samsung to drive the development of “Small Cell Network Infrastructure” for Sprint’s Network Vision Program (SNV).  SNV is a multi-year initiative designed to improve Sprint customers’ overall user network experience, including core improvements in coverage, quality and speed. The key for doing so is to deploy multi-mode base stations that are capable of supporting various spectrum bands.

Sprint and Samsung engineers have worked closely to develop products that will expand the coverage and capacity of the Sprint network utilizing Samsung’s small cells. Both companies anticipate significantly greater coverage and capacity. Sprint plans to deploy a heterogeneous network - or HetNet - for these small cell rollouts. The goal is to target high traffic indoor areas and hundreds of high capacity public venues such as stadiums, conference centers, office complexes, hotels, and airports. By greatly increasing both capacity and coverage in these “extreme” public environments, Sprint hopes to generate substantial customer satisfaction (and of course the attendant word of mouth recommendations for Sprint services that would likely follow).

“Our ongoing work with SVN shows the level of Samsung’s commitment to developing custom solutions with our important carrier customers. We’re confident that our efforts will allow Sprint to meet increasing demand for coverage and capacity while consolidating multiple legacy networks and spectrum bands in a single platform,” notes Dale Sohn, president of Samsung Telecommunications America.

Samsung initially became involved in the Network Vision program in December 2010. Needless to say, Sprint and Samsung have also worked closely to ensure that Sprint’s 56 million nationwide customers would have access to suitable 4G LTE mobile devices, among them both the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Samsung’s new top of the line Galaxy S III.

“Network Vision is all about improving the network experience for our customers,” says Bob Azzi, senior vice president of network operations for Sprint. “We are excited to expand our relationship with Samsung with their inclusion in the small cell program and provide customers with the cutting edge network they need to keep up with the cutting edge phones Sprint offers.”

The idea of utilizing small cell rollouts in high traffic public environments provides a good way to target large numbers of users. Public venues are typically environments where network capacity is a significant issue – in the past numerous networks have fallen prey to capacity issues that typically result in negative customer reactions. SNV will change these scenarios around for Sprint.