Samsung Networks has entered a difficult moment in the 5G equipment race. Its latest quarter marked its weakest network sales period in years. Yet the company still has one major advantage. Its parent group has enough financial power to endure a long downturn.
The setback follows a major shift in the UK. Vodafone had placed Samsung at the center of its open RAN plan. That project aimed to replace Huawei equipment across 2,500 sites. After Vodafone merged with Three, the operator changed direction quickly.
Andrea Dona, VodafoneThree’s chief technology officer, explained the decision last month. “The CMA [Competition and Markets Authority] have imposed very strict deadlines in terms of number of sites and in terms of spectrum solutions on those sites, by certain deadlines,” he said. “Unfortunately, the current-technology open RAN roadmap did not enable us to meet those deadlines. That’s why we took the difficult decision to abandon open RAN for now in the UK network.”
That decision hurt Samsung’s momentum in Europe. The company had hoped open RAN would open doors beyond traditional suppliers. Instead, VodafoneThree turned back toward Ericsson and Nokia for faster rollout execution.
Samsung’s third-quarter network sales reached about KRW400 billion, or $300 million. That compares with roughly KRW600 billion a year earlier. Meanwhile, Ericsson and Nokia reported stronger radio access network results during the same period.
However, Samsung’s position differs from its Nordic rivals. Its networks business may be under pressure. But Samsung Electronics reported huge group earnings, supported by demand for memory chips. Artificial intelligence has boosted that market sharply.
A Samsung Networks spokesperson highlighted that backing. “Samsung Networks is backed by the scale, diversified business portfolio, and financial strength of Samsung Electronics – which reported a record quarterly operating profit of approximately $80 billion in Q3 2026 from our semiconductor business,” the spokesperson said.
This strength gives Samsung time to refine its strategy. It can support research, absorb losses, and wait for demand to recover. Smaller or more focused network vendors have less room to maneuver.
At the same time, the market remains tough. Operators spent heavily during early 5G rollouts. Many now have limited appetite for another investment wave. Global RAN revenue has fallen sharply since 2022, according to Omdia data cited in the source report.
Samsung still has a distinctive technical message. It promotes virtual RAN using general-purpose processors from Intel. This approach runs network software on flexible computing platforms. Traditional RAN systems often rely on custom chips built for one purpose.
The virtual model may appeal to operators seeking supplier choice. It could also make future upgrades easier. Yet telcos still need strong efficiency, low latency, and proven field performance.
Intel’s Xeon 6 platform may help narrow that gap. Samsung and Intel claim strong performance-per-watt gains over earlier chips. Still, Intel’s own financial troubles may make some operators cautious.
Looking ahead, Samsung needs more major customer wins. Verizon remains a key believer in its virtual RAN technology. Japan’s KDDI may also support near-term growth.
For now, Samsung faces a hard RAN market and slower open RAN adoption. But its financial depth gives it unusual staying power. In a long telecom cycle, that may matter as much as short-term sales.
