Samsung To Supply 5G Telecom Equipment To Canada

Samsung Electronics will supply 4G LTE-A and 5G equipment to Canadian telco Videotron, the company announced.

The South Korean tech giant will supply dual-band radio stations and massive MIMO stations that support LTE connectivity in the first half of 2020. The equipment will be used by Videotron for its networks in Quebec and Ottawa.

Samsung will also supply the telco with 5G equipment that supports 3.5GHz and 28GHz spectrum at a later date, it said.

Canada has yet to announce when it will deploy 5G networks, but spectrum auctions for telcos are expected to start sometime in 2020.

Videotron is Canada’s fifth largest carrier but it has grown quickly since first launching wireless services in 2010.

Samsung, a distant fifth place in terms of telecom equipment market share for 4G LTE, has been attempting to upset the status quo with an aggressive push in 5G. It is supplying its 5G equipment to all three South Korean telcos as well as the United States’ Sprint and AT&T. It is also supplying the goods to Japan’s KDDI.

According to IHS Markit, in the third quarter, Huawei was the largest 5G equipment vendor with a 30% market share, followed by Samsung which had 23%. Ericsson came third with 20% and Nokia was fourth with 14%.

Analysts in South Korea expect Samsung’s network business will increase its annual sales by 50% compared to last year thanks to this 5G push.

The tech behemoth previously said it aims to secure 20% market share in total telecom equipment by 2020. – ZD Net