Samsung pacts with Dish for 5G radios, phones

Samsung has signed a multi-year deal to sell equipment to Dish for its upcoming 5G network in the United States, one of the largest radio deals for the South Korean company since its major Verizon contract in 2020. 

Samsung set itself up as a challenger to top telecoms equipment suppliers Nokia and Ericsson in the United States by winning a $6.6 billion deal with Verizon, and the contract with Dish further cements its position. 

Dish is building a 5G network using the latest technologies that promise to lower costs and bring in new services, and has tied up with companies ranging from Amazon and Intel to smaller ones such as Altiostar and Mavenir. 

While Dish has not launched a commercial network yet, it has committed to regulators to cover 20% of the U.S. population by June, and at least 70% of the population by mid-2023. 

Dish is also testing its 5G network using Samsung Galaxy S22 phones and plans to continue using the phones throughout the network deployment process.

Dish, which has been setting up network infrastructure in dozens of cities, has also faced supply chain issues that have hurt companies globally, including in the telecom industry.