Samsung has its best chance ever of becoming a significant RAN supplier in the 5G era. It is tapping into two trends that work in its favor. One is the deployment of 5G in millimeter wave spectrum, which gave it an initial foothold in the US market that it successfully converted to a more general presence with Verizon and AT&T. The other is the bid by some operators to open up their supply chains using Open RAN, which Samsung has embraced. Outside north America and its native South Korea, Samsung still remains a minor player for now, though it is a key partner in Vodafone’s Open RAN roster. Now the vendor has announced that it is in trials with the…