Samsung and Vodafone have announced what they claim is the first end-to-end data call (session) using AMD’s CPUs. Running in Supermicro servers, using Wind River’s Studio Container-as-a-Service (CaaS) platform, and Samsung’s vRAN software, the Epyc 8004 CPUs, appear to have delighted Samsung and Vodafone. This should alarm Intel, the chief x86 CPU rival, but the question of general purpose versus bespoke silicon in the RAN market is still a hot topic. This is true in many other niches in the communications market, but with Samsung looking to challenge the old guard in the RAN sector (Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia), this AMD endorsement is significant. The test was carried out in Samsung’s R&D lab, in Korea. In September 2023, Samsung and AMD…