Samsung inks ₩7.9 trillion deal with Verizon

Samsung Electronics' Seocho headquarters in Gangnam, southern Seoul. [YONHAP]

Samsung Electronics signed a 7.9 trillion won ($6.6 billion) deal to supply network equipment to U.S. telecommunications company Verizon, the Korean IT firm disclosed Monday in a public filing.

Under the contract, Samsung Electronics America will provide equipment, including for 5G connections, to Verizon for five years through December 2025. By volume, it's the biggest single supply deal for network equipment ever secured by a Korean company.

Samsung had worked with domestic mobile carriers last year to make Korea the first country to commercialize 5G connections. After 5G debuted April 2019, the company has signed network equipment supply deals with major telecommunications operators, including Canada’s Videotron, the U.S.'s Cellular and New Zealand’s Spark.

The largest wireless company in the United States, Verizon is also the largest in the world.

Prior to the rollout of 5G, Samsung’s presence as a telecommunications network provider was not as strong as its foothold in phones or chips. The company managed to significantly increase its market share last year, jumping to 23.33 percent from 5 percent in 2018, according to data from research firm IHS Markit.

BY SONG KYOUNG-SON [song.kyoungson@joongang.co.kr]