Nokia said that new lab will allow local firms to test their solutions and services, including interoperability tests for 5G private wireless networks
Nokia announced that it has launched a Private 5G Open Lab, as part of its existing Advanced Technology Center at its Seoul offices to showcase its technology and encourage the development of 5G private wireless networks in Korea.
In a release, the Finnish vendor said that the Nokia’s Private 5G Open Lab will support Korean enterprises, communications service providers and partners in leveraging 5G private wireless networks to acquire new capabilities and operational efficiencies. The lab will also offer training to partners and demonstrations for customers. Nokia will also partner with Korean companies developing solutions and services for 5G private wireless networks.
The new facility is equipped with Nokia’s 5G private wireless network solution, including its radio, core and service platform, powered by Nokia’s latest AirScale portfolio, Modular Private Wireless and FastMile 5G Gateways. Nokia Digital Automation Cloud and MX Industrial Edge will also be added and cross-connected with the existing equipment by the third quarter of the year.
Korea has recently announced e-UM (private 5G) service in n79 and n257 frequency bands and has awarded service license to several companies. Nokia’s lab will showcase several industrial-grade private wireless use cases, including Industry 4.0, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and factory automation.
The vendor also noted that the new lab allows local companies to test their solutions and services, including interoperability tests for 5G private wireless networks. Nokia will also provide a verified private 5G service platform from diverse global use cases for testing purposes to local customers and local industrial players.
Kevin Ahn, head of Korea at Nokia, said: “We are thrilled at the opening of the Private 5G Open Lab in Korea. It will allow us to showcase our field-proven products and solutions as well as accelerating the local industry by allowing domestic players to test their 5G private wireless network solutions, across radio, core and diverse user equipments. The lab reiterates our commitment to an open ecosystem to encourage the development of diverse 5G private wireless network solutions. The 5G private wireless network sector will also benefit from our learnings and experiences of building 5G private networks in other regions.”
Last month, LG CNS, the IT division of South Korea’s LG Group, applied for government permission to become the second domestic operator of a private 5G network.
LG CNS said it aims to accelerate the digital transformation of manufacturing customers by combining 5G with smart factories. The company has already introduced its Factova, which is an integrated smart factory platform based on AI, big data, and IoT.
In December 2021, the Ministry of Science and ICT said that Naver Cloud was registered as South Korea’s first company to provide a telecom service using a private 5G network. Naver Cloud, which is a cloud computing unit of South Korea’s top web portal operator and IT company, said it aims to establish a smart office using a private 5G network at a new robot-friendly building under construction in Bundang in the southern satellite city of Seoul.
For services to other companies, Naver Cloud will provide cloud data centers and private 5G networks, while Naver Labs will offer ultra-large AI and 5G brainless robots.
