Samsung wins $6.6 billion order to provide 5G network to Verizon

Samsung Electronics have won a $6.6 billion agreement to provide 5G network equipment to Verizon in the United States, expanding its presence in the strategically vital market, reported AFP, quoting a regulatory filing.

According to Samsung Electronics, the massive deal was equivalent to 3.4% of the company’s total worldwide sales last year along with a “long-term strategic contract”. 

Due to strong demand for memory chips, the firm was able to post a 7.3% rise in second-quarter net profits defying the coronavirus pandemic. The company shares closed up 1.6% on Monday. 

Samsung Electronics is the flagship subsidiary of the sprawling Samsung group, by far the biggest of the family-controlled South Korean conglomerates that dominate business in the world’s 12th-biggest economy. 

When it came to deploying the potentially transformative technology, the US, which is generally behind South Korea and China in these terms, announced the auction of 100 megahertz of coast-to-coast spectrum long reserved for the military to telecommunications firms for use in 5G networks last month.

Washington has also banned US telecom firms from using network equipment manufactured by Samsung’s Chinese rival Huawei on security grounds.

While 4G networks can carry large data loads, 5G networks are touted as promising an exponential leap in the amount and speed of wireless data, enabling advances in self-driving vehicles and virtual reality.