Three Ireland CEO Robert Finnegan and John Kim, acting MD of Samsung Electronics UK, at Three's offices in Dublin. Photo by Jason Clarke Photography
Mobile operator Three Ireland has today announced a partnership with Samsung Electronics UK to deploy an LTE network offering speeds of 100Mbps, which will reach customers later this year.
Under the agreement, Samsung Electronics will be Three Ireland’s sole provider of LTE radio access network (RAN) and core infrastructure equipment, deploying LTE base stations and all associated systems and network support services across Three’s network nationwide.
“Following on from Three’s successful win of a strong 4G spectrum portfolio in the recent LTE spectrum auction, today’s announcement marks a further milestone in our 4G roll-out strategy,” said Robert Finnegan, CEO of Three Ireland.
Finnegan added that Samsung’s advanced network solutions will allow Three to offer speeds of up to 100Mbps to its customers using mobile broadband on smartphones, tablets and laptops. “Customers will start to see the benefits later this year,” he confirmed, and a service launch in Dublin is planned for August.
This will mark Samsung’s first commercial 4G deployment in Ireland and just its second in Europe, though the company has already partnered with dozens of mobile service providers in the US, Asia and the Middle East to implement 4G solutions. In 2011, Samsung Networks Europe was established to focus on growing its 4G business in Europe.
“Samsung is delighted to partner with Three Ireland to build the first Irish LTE network,” said Youngky Kim, executive vice-president and head of networks business at Samsung Electronics. “This contract will spur Samsung to accelerate our business in Europe.”
