SKT aims to take lead in 5G network
By Choi Kyong-ae
Ha Sung-min SK Telecom CEO
BARCELONA ― SK Telecom will take the lead in next-generation 5G wireless services by preemptively building networks, the company’s chief executive said Tuesday.
“Standards for 5G services have yet to be discussed. But we stand to gain from the upcoming 5G era as we are building networks for Long-Term Evolution services (for speedier mobile services) as planned,” SK Telecom CEO Ha Sung-min said at a press conference held on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress here.
The 5G network will allow a user to download an 800-megabyte movie in just one second, compared to 40 seconds on a 4G network, according to SK Telecom. The 4G network is currently the fastest in the world.
If SK Telecom claims leadership in 5G networks, it will give a hefty boost to the bottom line of Korea’s biggest mobile services carrier.
Moreover, the government’s recent decision to invest 1.6 trillion won ($1.5 billion) to make 5G services commercially available by the end of 2020 will be another catalyst to telecom companies and related parties.
“SK Telecom will demonstrate a full range of 5G services at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang in 2018,” Ha said.
Korea has been a global leader in super-fast Internet connections. Nearly 80 percent of 50 million Koreans use smartphones today. So, regular upgrades to the country’s mobile network have been a prerequisite for telecom companies’ future earnings growth. The 2G service began in Korea in the 1990s and the 4G service was introduced in 2010.
“This year, we are entering the so-called Smart 2.0 Era in which convergence, connectivity and integration matter as opposed to the 1.0 Era where connection itself mattered and smartphones began to spread,” Ha said.
“We are seeking to lead others in the Internet of Everything (IoE) world with our innovative technology in wireless services.”
In a world where everything is seamlessly connected through the Internet, telecom companies, and handset and parts makers will have no other option but to compete in each other’s businesses as well. That’s because barriers will no longer exist, Ha said.
That’s why it acquired Next Generation Security on Korea (NSOK), a major corporate security system company. The unlisted NSOK posted 30 billion won in sales last year.
Through the acquisition, SK Telecom aims to “transform NSOK into a comprehensive security company by integrating the former’s data and network infrastructure and the latter’s security platform,” said the CEO.
Meanwhile, with convergence picking up speed, he said SK Telecom is also looking for business opportunities in big data and cloud services.
Driven by its advanced infrastructure, Korea has emerged as an attractive destination for global firms keen on expanding their data centers. Japanese telecom giant SoftBank built an Internet data center in Korea in 2012 with help from KT Corp, Korea’s second-biggest telecom company.
Microsoft is considering building a data center in Korea as part of its efforts to offer cloud computing services, or a backup data facility, for the Asia-Pacific region, government officials and industry sources told The Korea Times in mid February.
“For network-based companies like SK Telecom, how organically they can connect the existing business model with data and cloud services will determine their future growth,” he said.