US cable operator Comcast detailed plans to improve 5G connectivity for its Xfinity Mobile MVNO service by installing Samsung radio equipment covering CBRS and 600MHz bands.

Tom Nagel, SVP of wireless strategy, stated in a blog coupling CBRS with low band 600MHz spectrum will improve customer experience while also lowering its overall service costs.

He added Comcast plans to use Samsung’s equipment in high-traffic areas and has no plans to build a full national network.

Samsung’s 5G RAN portfolio includes radios for CBRS and 600MHz baseband units, with the operator also due to deploy a newly-developed small cell which employs operators’ existing DOCSIS infrastructure to provide next-generation connectivity.

The companies plan to tap Comcast employees in the next round of testing.

Nagel stated Comcast has spectrum holdings covering around 80 per cent of the homes passed in its footprint, which amounts to 50 per cent of the population.

The operator launched Xfinity Mobile in 2017 and its tally of customers stood at 4.6 million at end-Q2.

In 2020, Comcast paid $485 million for 830 Priority Access Licences in a CBRS sale.