Samsung flicks the switch on LG U+ LTE network

Korean vendor Samsung Electronics has deployed an LTE network for LG U+, the South Korean network operator. The service went live on 1 July, the same day that rival local carrier SK Telecom, also launched a Samsung powered network.

The network employs High-Rate Packet Data (eHRPD), which according to Samsung enables seamless switching between LTE and CDMA. The Korean vendor said that it has provided multi-mode base stations that support CDMA and LTE services at the same time, which will help reduced the costs of deploying and migrating networks from the former to the latter. LG U+ said that it plans to expand its LTE roll out to provide nationwide coverage by July 2012.

Samsung currently has eight commercial LTE contracts and has partnered with more than 30 global operators including KDDI in Japan, MetroPCS and CellularSouth in US and Mobily in Saudi Arabia. It hopes that its ability to act as an end-to-end provider of LTE equipment, from the infrastructure to the terminal devices, will enable it to win further contracts. Back in May, Samsung announced a new division targeting the European network infrastructure market.

The sixth annual LTE Asia conference, takes place in Suntec, Singapore, on the 5-7th September 2011