Qualcomm Technologies, LG Uplus and LG Electronics have deployed what they claim is South Korea’s first 5G mmWave network using a commercial 5G smartphone at the Kumoh National Institute of Technology (KIT).
The 5G mmWave network will enable new services for KIT employees, professors and students, showcasing the technology’s ability to power a “smart campus” model.
For example, the partners said, the 5G mmWave deployment will allow for the use of a virtual desktop environment, so that the KIT community can work securely from a 5G mmWave smartphone or laptop anytime, anywhere on campus. The KIT also plans to use 5G technology to establish high-quality remote classes with two-way communication between students and professors.
The partners also noted that this milestone also represents an important step toward the commercialization of 5G mmWave in South Korea, which is expected to occur in 2021.
Qualcomm and the Korean carrier said that the smart campus services will be accessible through the LG Uplus 28 GHz 5G mmWave network on a commercial smartphone by LG Electronics, which is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Mobile Platform with the Snapdragon X55 5G Modem-RF System.
The partners also highlighted that the deployment of 5G mmWave is critical to reaching the full potential of 5G and addressing massive increases in mobile data demand. 5G mmWave will allow LG Uplus to take advantage of vast spectrum resources in high spectrum bands, enabling the telco to more easily deliver the multi-gigabit cellular speeds.
This milestone also showcases the benefits of 5G mmWave technology as it further enables smart campuses, indoor enterprises, indoor/outdoor venues, transportation hubs, fixed wireless access devices, and the industrial Internet of Things, Qualcomm and LG Uplus said.
“At LG Uplus, we are continuing to prioritize our contributions to the national development of 5G,” said Weonseok Cho, senior vice president, B2B new business group, LG Uplus. “Through this collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies and LG, we were able to see the potential of 5G mmWave and we will continue the collaboration to overcome challenges to realize the full benefits of 5G.”
SoftBank selects Nokia for 5G SA deployment
In related news, Nokia announced that its cloud-native, 5G core software has been selected by Japanese carrier SoftBank to enable the launch of standalone 5G services.
Nokia said it will help support new consumer and enterprise use cases, such as immersive experiences (VR/AR/MR), fixed wireless access, video surveillance and analytics, cloud robotics and connected vehicles with a standalone 5G core.
Nokia’s 5G Core will automate the lifecycle management of SoftBank’s networks, as well as enable continuous software delivery and integration, the Finnish vendor said.
Under the contract, SoftBank will deploy the cloud mobility manager and cloud mobile gateway products. Other Nokia products like subscriber data management with a shared data layer, and a cloud-native database accessible via industry standard protocols will enable an open ecosystem and the integration of third-party applications.
