Samsung Networks fleshed out details on its open RAN deal with Vodafone Group in Europe, with the South Korean vendor set to deploy its equipment across thousands of sites in Germany and other markets.

In what is rapidly becoming a PR spin-war between the vendor and rival Ericsson to claim the most significant slice of Vodafone’s big Spring 6 tender, Samsung’s announcement coincided with an Ericsson statement today (14 October) that it had signed a five-year deal to be the operator’s exclusive RAN partner in three markets and maintained “major vendor” status in Germany, Romania and Egypt.

Nokia too got in on the action, stating it had “maintained” its role as a strategic Vodafone and Vodacom partner in Europe and Africa.

For Samsung, the major update was providing details on its deal with Vodafone in Germany, where it said it would serve as the operator’s “primary partner”. This arrangement also extends to other European markets, which were undisclosed. It had already announced its open RAN deal with Vodafone at the start of the month, without naming individual markets.

It added Germany was the first market to implement its open RAN offering to become one of the largest deployments in Europe. The first site is already live in Hannover, and Wismar will become the second city fully equipped with open RAN in early 2026.   

Across a five-year programme, Samsung said it would with work with Vodafone to add thousands of open RAN sites across Europe. Samsung reiterated plans to provide its vRAN offering, supporting 2G, 4G and 5G and deliver O-RAN compliant radios including massive MIMO radios.

Alberto Ripepi, chief network officer at Vodafone, said open RAN was a key pillar in its network evolution and “the next step in our journey is to extend open RAN to reach many more countries”.