Samsung’s network division secured a multi-year KRW7.9 trillion ($6.6 billion) wireless contract from US-based Verizon, in a major win for the South Korean vendor against established rivals.

Yonhap News Agency said the contract with Verizon is Samsung Network’s largest ever, with the deal representing 3.43 per cent of the company’s entire revenue of KRW230 trillion in 2019.

In a Korean stock market filing today (7 September), the electronics giant said its US subsidiary Samsung Electronics America signed a deal with Verizon Sourcing for the purchase, installation and maintenance of wireless equipment including 5G gear. The contract runs from 30 June 2020 to 31 December 2025.

Remy Pascal, senior analyst at Analysys Mason, tweeted the deal is “a really big one” and a serious boost for Samsung’s global market share.

In early July, US media speculated the operator was lining up a RAN deal with Samsung. Verizon also uses RAN equipment from Ericsson and Nokia, but the huge move to Samsung gear could come at the expense of the latter, which would be major blow for the Finland-based vendor in the US market.

Samsung signed a commercial agreement with for 5G and LTE equipment with US Cellular in February, and is clearly becoming a major player in a market where Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE are banned.

The vendor is already a major 5G supplier for South Korean operators and is tipped to gain market share globally due to a growing list of blocks the on Chinese vendors.