A RAN collaboration between Samsung Electronics and Marvell Technology Group bore its first fruit in the form of a SoC the pair stated offers power consumption and footprint advantages across 4G and 5G networks.

In a joint statement, the companies explained the SoC would be used in Samsung’s Massive MIMO and “other advanced radios”. Power consumption is reduced by 70 per cent and the unit is smaller than previous products, with the companies citing benefits including greater capacity and coverage.

They aim to begin shipments to tier-1 operators in Q2

Junehee Lee, EVP and head of R&D for Samsung’s Networks business, stated the companies had combined their “strengths in innovation to advance 5G network solutions”.

The companies added 5G RAN R&D to an existing collaboration in March 2020, at the time noting they would focus on developing new radio unit systems to meet the power and computing requirements of Massive MIMO.

Marvell also has 5G RAN collaboration deals with vendors Fujitsu and Nokia.