Enhancing the global sales structure for 5G solutions

Specifically, both companies will launch a joint marketing team. The team members are equipped with specialised skills, including sales and radio technology knowhow of NEC's global sales bases and Samsung's 5G commercial experience and technology leadership to strengthen sales of 5G products and related IT services to telecommunications carriers.

The team will first prepare joint proposals for 5G products for European and Asia Pacific markets, and will begin offering proposals to several operators within this year. Both companies are also developing products jointly, and plan to begin shipping the products in Japan by the end of the fiscal year 2019.

In addition, the companies are studying the sharing of portfolios that leverage their strengths, and are working to jointly create services that utilise technologies such as AI and others, and to provide solutions that enable more efficient operations for communications services.

"Markets have increasingly high expectations for the creation of new services using 5G," said Atsuo Kawamura, Executive Vice President and President of the Network Services Business Unit at NEC Corporation. "NEC and Samsung are now working together to approach these advanced markets, and are confident that we can greatly enhance the capabilities that we offer to customers through the provision of optimal 5G solutions."

"Samsung takes pride of standing at the heart of next generation initiative, leading the industry for years with next generation technologies in bringing innovative solutions across markets of all size," said Paul Kyungwhoon Cheun, Executive Vice President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. "By working closely with NEC, we aim to accelerate transformation of 5G world through our substantial commitments."