SK Telecom the first carrier in South Korea to install 5G equipment in its building
South Korean mobile telephony operator SK Telecom said it completed building a system to support the development of millimeter-wave technology, seen as one of the key enabling technologies for “5G,” at the corporate research and development center housed in its Bundang Building. The system was developed in collaboration with compatriot company Samsung Electronics. With the launch of the millimeter-wave system, SK Telecom becomes the first mobile carrier in South Korea to install 5G equipment in its building.
The millimeter-wave system is said to allow the two companies to realize enhanced data transmission speeds; test, verify and improve wireless transmission performance between base stations and handsets; and review the possibility of applying millimeter-wave technologies in urban cores.
As one of the key 5G enabling technologies, millimeter-wave technology uses 30 GHz or higher frequency bands to deliver faster data transmission speeds. Due to the saturation and fragmentation of frequency bands below the 6 GHz band being used today for mobile telecommunications, mobile operators expect millimeter-wave technologies that allow for the utilization of wide bandwidth in the higher frequency bands to help foster quicker adoption of 5G technology.
SK Telecom and Samsung Electronics have been working together since October 2014 to develop technologies that will enable the use of spectrum above 6 GHz. The companies have stepped up their collaborative efforts to develop 5G technologies after entering into a memorandum of understanding in April for cooperation in five core ICT areas, including next-generation network and the “Internet of Things.”
“Through close collaboration with a global ICT player Samsung Electronics, SK Telecom is pleased to launch the [millimeter-wave] system where we can develop and verify mmWave technologies,” Alex Jinsung Choi, CTO, EVP and head of SK Telecom’s corporate R&D center said. “SK Telecom and Samsung Electronics will further strengthen joint R&D efforts to lead the upcoming 5G era.”
SK Telecom is scheduled to open a 5G testbed within this year, and plans to launch a pre-5G trial in 2018 and a commercial 5G service in 2020, the company’s EVP for public relations Yoon Yong-chul, told RCR Wireless News.
“SK Telecom is making efforts to create a 5G ecosystem with diverse players including IT companies, equipment vendors and handset manufacturers,” the executive added.
The South Korean company ended the second quarter of 2015 with a total of 22.66 million subscribers. LTE subscribers totaled 17.93 million at the end of June, representing 62.6% of the firm’s overall subscriber base.
