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| LG Uplus officials work on cell planning necessary to offer stable 5G services. Courtesy of LG Uplus |
By Jun Ji-hye
LG Uplus has completed the cell planning necessary to offer a stable fifth-generation (5G) network, the firm said Sunday, noting that the high-end service will begin in Seoul and its surrounding area as well as some metropolitan cities Dec. 1
Cell planning refers to selecting the locations for 5G equipment and pointing antennas in the right directions. Accurate cell planning enables a company to reduce the time required to construct networks and improve service quality.
The nation's smallest mobile carrier said it cooperated with France's Forsk, a developer of the widely used radio planning and optimization software Atoll.
The three mobile carriers here _ SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus _ have been working to provide the world's first next-generation telecom services beginning next month, using mobile routers initially rather than smartphones. Services for smartphones will become available in March next year as initially planned. Mobile routers are devices providing mobile connections for Wi-Fi devices.
LG Uplus said it has prepared for about a year for its cell planning to guarantee optimal quality of 5G networks.
The telecom firm added it is establishing a strategy to construct a 5G ecosystem encompassing small- and medium-sized enterprises as well as conglomerates.
Toward that end, the firm will open a lab next year to help its small- and medium-sized partners to develop services and products that work on the next-generation networks.
The firm will also enhance cooperation with academic and research institutions. Plans include a joint research project with Hanyang University on autonomous driving technologies.
"We are counting down to the opening of 5G era," said Choi Ju-sik, a vice president in charge of 5G at LG Uplus. "We will spur efforts to construct 5G networks and develop services in order to bring substantive benefits to our customers and pull growth in the Fourth Industrial Revolution."
