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17 June 2025

Inside the Samsung and Three Collaboration on 5G Standalone
BY Three Business Blog Team
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Hardware at the Heart of 5G (SA): Inside the Samsung and Three Collaboration.

No matter how advanced a network is, it needs the right hardware to prove its true potential. That was the starting point for Three Ireland and Samsung’s collaboration to launch the first trial public 5G Standalone (SA) network in the country. It wasn’t just a network test, it was a hardware trial too. With expert input from both companies, and support from partners like Ericsson, this project became a masterclass in collaborative innovation.

Doing the Groundwork

At the end of 2022, Three’s ambition to launch the 5G Standalone trial faced a key requirement: the network would need to be tested with compatible devices. This led to Brian Flynn, Device Testing Manager at Three, reaching out to Samsung’s Product Management Team - the group responsible for ensuring interoperability of all new Samsung devices.

It was the beginning of a close collaboration. Alex Burcea, Technical project lead for Samsung MX in Ireland led the charge, working alongside Three’s network and devices teams, as well as Ericsson, who supply the equipment for Three’s 5G infrastructure.

Syncing up Devices and Networks

The first step was enabling the trial, beginning with the Flagship Galaxy S23 Ultra. Samsung developed the initial binary for the devices and then expanded support across the full Samsung Galaxy S23 range. This required tweaks to the network as well as to the device software to get the network up and running.

The Samsung team in Ireland’s role was to act as a vital bridge between Three and the Samsung R&D team in Suwon, South Korea. Quentin and Alex played a key role in the project’s success. Quentin Doran O’Reilly, Head of Product in Samsung, summed it up perfectly “It was a team effort!”.

Samsung also supplied their handsets across the S23 range for both internal testing and live demonstrations. A critical component of getting the trial up and running.

Going Live at TUS Athlone

In January 2024, the test network officially went live at the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) campus, making Three the first Irish operator on its public network to trial the next evolution of 5G, 5G Standalone.

Brian Flynn from Three heralded the team: “If we didn’t have the support from Samsung, we wouldn’t have a network to test. Alex and Samsung’s team support throughout the process was invaluable.”

Real World Applications of Stand Alone 5G

Since its launch, TUS has begun developing multiple use cases across agriculture, sports, health, and personal safety.

One particularly exciting area of testing is Voice over New Radio (VoNR), also known as Voice over 5G. This next-generation voice technology leverages 5G’s strengths: high speed, low latency, and improved capacity to enhance voice communication. Future uses include supporting richer communications like HD video calling, augmented reality and more. “This is going to be a very big deal”, Quentin Doran O’Reilly noted.

Looking to the future

Looking ahead, the team sees vast untapped potential in 5G Standalone. “We’re really only scratching the surface,” Quentin explained: “There is an awful lot of freedom that comes along with 5G standalone networks.”

The partnership between Three and Samsung achieved a major technical milestone, while also paving the way for next generation services that will shape the future of connectivity in Ireland and beyond.