Today, Samsung Electronics was chosen to provide and deploy an LTE Radio Access Network (RAN) for Telefonica in Chile. Although the two companies have worked together in the past, along with Visa Europe and Komercni banka, to launch a new payment technology, this is their first time working together on an LTE project; indeed, this is Samsung's first LTE project with a European global operator.
This agreement will see the Korean electronics manufacturer deploy LTE base stations with all associated systems, while providing network support services. Overall, Samsung's equipment will cover over 95 percent of Chile and 16 out of 20 of its most populated cities. The LTE rollout will occur throughout this year and into the next, supported by the latest mobile broadband technology.
"Our key focus is to deliver superior and differential connectivity experience to all of our customers and a key pillar on this is the rollout of best-in-class LTE networks all across our geographies," said Enrique Blanco Nadales, global chief technology officer at Telefonica, in a statement. "We are convinced that the partnership with Samsung that has seen a first implementation in our Chilean Operation is and will be fundamental on the objective of delivering superior quality to Telefonica customers."
Samsung has a wide range of experience in LTE, having partnered with many global mobile service providers in the past, most notably Sprint and MetroPCS in the U.S., KDDI in Japan, and SK Telecom and KT in South Korea. As such, Samsung's portfolio of end-to-end LTE products and solutions is comprehensive and includes radio access networks, core networks, IMS, system integration and managed services.
In December, the company acquired NVELO, a spin off from Denali Software known for its Dataplex SSD caching software. The acquisition included all technology and personnel currently under NVELO's employ. This acquisition has enabled Samsung to improve its own solid state drives.
Edited by
Brooke Neuman 
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