SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. major networking hardware manufacturer Cisco Systems said Wednesday that it is teaming up with South Korean conglomerate Samsung to start a trial of 5G wireless technology in 2018 across multiple homes in Romania.
The trial, which begins in the second half of this year, will make Romanian internet service provider Orange the first operator to conduct a multi-vendor 5G fixed wireless access customer service in Europe.
The pioneer project will be conducted over a month-long period and be set up as a multi-vendor environment.
It aims to demonstrate how 5G can complement existing fiber networks to provide users with high-speed bandwidth services.
Cisco and Samsung are working together to supply Orange with an end-to-end solution to deliver a gigabit-powered experience to trial customers, Cisco said in a statement.
Samsung will supply the commercial 5G home routers, 5G Radio Access Units and 5G radio frequency planning services.
Since 2017, Samsung and Cisco have conducted a series of comprehensive network vendor interoperability tests that demonstrated seamless interworking between the virtualized core network, virtualized radio network and CPE.
"Together with Samsung and Cisco, we are joining forces to drive the development of 5G and prepare for its progressive roll-out starting 2020," said Arnaud Vamparys, senior vice president of Radio Networks and Microwaves of Orange.
Samsung has recently demonstrated a video call over 5G and revealed a prototype 5G tablet.
5G networks are expected to go live in some parts of the world by next year.
Samsung conducted its first multi-vendor 5G trial with American telecommunications giant Verizon and Cisco in the United States nine months ago.