Samsung has secured a deal to support the modernization of Canadian telco Vidéotron's network infrastructure.

As part of the tie-up, Samsung will help Vidéotron modernize its network infrastructure with the Korean vendor's 5G non-standalone (NSA) and 4G LTE Core Gateway solution.

It is the latest carrier partnership that Samsung has carved out in Canada, with the vendor having agreed a deal with SaskTel for 4G and 5G upgrades in November, and penned an Open RAN deal with Telus.

As part of Samsung's partnership with Vidéotron, the company will provide its cloud-native 5G and 4G Core on Dell PowerEdge servers with AMD EPYC 9005 server CPUs and Red Hat OpenShift, the industry’s leading hybrid cloud application platform powered by Kubernetes.

This suggests that Videotron is pushing for Open RAN, with its network underpinned by a diverse ecosystem of partners.

Samsung notes that its network will provide Vidéotron with automation-ready operations to streamline lifecycle management and reduce complexity.

“Samsung’s success delivering our RAN infrastructure gave us confidence in their ability to support our Core network,” said Mohamed Drif, senior vice president and chief technology officer, Vidéotron.

“Its solution leverages open, industry-standard platforms that provide the operational flexibility we need as we elevate service for our customers in Quebec and expand our digital-first mobile and home Internet brand, Fizz, across Canada. The cloud-native approach aligns perfectly with our network evolution strategy.”

The two companies previously worked together on a RAN partnership back in 2019.

“The expansion of our relationship with Vidéotron from RAN to xore is a testament to Samsung’s virtualized end-to-end network technology,” said Stephen Wiktorski, vice president and head of networks at Samsung Electronics.

“This deployment will empower Videotron to further optimize its network performance and reduce operational complexity, while continuing to ensure seamless connectivity for customers across Canada. With this step in our partnership, we are proud to continue supporting Vidéotron in realizing its vision of scalable, future-ready networks.”

Quebec-based Vidéotron is the fourth-biggest carrier in Canada, with more than 4.3 million mobile lines. The company also provides TV, Internet, and wireline telephone services.