Samsung joins Nokia, Ericsson in $3.6 bn Vodafone India deal

(Kim Ho-young)

Samsung Electronics Co. will supply 4G and 5G network equipment to Indian telecom provider Vodafone Idea Ltd. in collaboration with Nokia Corp. and Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson.

According to industry sources on Monday, Samsung Electronics, Nokia, and Ericsson agreed to a $3.6 billion deal to provide network equipment to Vodafone Idea. Samsung is expected to secure $720 million of the order, with Nokia and Ericsson each receiving 40 percent of the contract and Samsung 20 percent.

The three companies will deliver 4G and 5G equipment to Vodafone Idea over about three years, beginning in the fourth quarter of 2024. This is Samsung Electronics’ first partnership with Vodafone India, having achieved supply deals with all three major Indian telecom carriers. Samsung Electronics previously signed contracts to supply 5G equipment to Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. in December 2022 and Bharti Airtel Ltd. in August 2022.

Vodafone is the only one of the three Indian telecom companies that does not offer 5G services yet. Industry experts predict that this contract could lead to further 5G equipment deals as Vodafone aims to strengthen its 5G capabilities and close the gap with competitors.

Samsung Electronics is also looking to take advantage of this opportunity to expand its network business. After becoming the world‘s first company to commercialize virtualized base stations on a large scale in 2020, it launched 5G virtualized stations in the United Kingdom in 2022.

The company has also made progress in 6G and has been engaged in advanced 6G research and development at its next-generation communications research center within Samsung Research since May 2019. It unveiled its 6G vision in July 2020 and aims to lead the development of 6G by leveraging its capabilities in network equipment, smartphones, and semiconductors.

Industry insiders are also paying attention to Samsung’s collaboration with Nokia after Bloomberg reported that Samsung may acquire Nokia‘s mobile network assets.