5G trials conducted ahead of 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea
SHANGHAI – Korean telecommunications company KT confirmed “5G” technology will be available during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, which are set to take place in February 2018.
Speaking at this week’s Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2016 event, Dongmyun Lee, EVP at KT, said some of the services to be offered through the 5G technology will include a drone equipped with a video camera. During a technical trial last September, images were sent from the top of a ski jump tower, and, on the subsequent route, down to ground level. The executive said viewers will be able to experience the games from the athlete’s point of view thanks to 5G technology.
Rival SK telecom said it will also offer the possibility to see live holograms of the athletes as well as the so-called omniview camera angles through which viewers can choose to watch an event from multiple points of view.
In April, KT and NEC said they completed a proof-of-concept trial for a 5G wireless backhaul solution utilizing spectrum in the 70 GHz and 80 GHz bands. The PoC was conducted at Phoenix Park Ski World in Pyeongchang, South Korea, using KT’s commercial mobile network infrastructure.
KT is currently collaborating with vendors including ZTE and Ericsson for the development of 5G technology. The carrier currently offers LTE services using spectrum in the 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2.1 GHz bands, having initially launched LTE services in January 2012.
