KT ups 5G ties with China Mobile, NTT DoCoMo
Lee Su-kil, third from left in front row, senior vice president of KT's Network Research Technology Support Unit, poses with officials from China Mobile and Japan's NTT DoCoMo during a Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement technology meeting at Research Center in Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of KT
By Baek Byung-yeul
KT, Korea's second-largest mobile carrier, is putting forth its best efforts to take the leadership in the forthcoming fifth-generation (5G) network era.
The company said Thursday it held a Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement (SCFA) for two days on Wednesday and Thursday with China Mobile and Japan's NTT DoCoMo in Seoul and decided to bolster their cooperation in the development and commercialization of 5G technologies.
Established in 2011, the SCFA is Asia's largest telecom business community. The three mobile firms have been actively cooperating in 5G technologies since 2015.
At the technology meeting, the three companies shared information about 5G technologies including the commercialization strategy and useful case studies of vehicles to everything (V2X) telecom services.
KT said the meeting was to strengthen ties with the Chinese and Japanese firms.
“Based on the world's first 5G network service showcased at this year's PyeongChang Winter Olympics, KT has been leading the global 5G market,” Lee Su-kil, senior vice president of KT's Network Research Technology Support Unit, said. “By cooperating with China Mobile and NTT DoCoMo, KT will spearhead the commercialization of 5G network service.”
5G open lab to expand ecosystem
KT said Thursday it inaugurated KT 5G Open Lab Wednesday at the company's Research & Development Center in Seo-cho, southern Seoul.
KT said the 5G Open Lab is to expand the 5G ecosystem as the laboratory allows its partners to develop 5G-related services.
The 5G Open Lab is comprised of three development spaces -- Infra Zone, Media Zone and Smart-X zone -- and one exhibition space where participating companies can promote their services and products.
The Infra Zone in the development space is for developing and testing 5G-related infrastructure and virtualization technology. The Media Zone is for developing 5G-based media and entertainment services such as augmented and virtual reality and the Smart-X Zone is for internet of things (IoT) service development.
Through its web page at 5gopenlab.com, companies who want to use the lab can receive information and conduct business with KT. To help participating companies develop 5G-related services easily, KT said it will also open its Application Programming Interface (API).
By operating the 5G Open Lab, KT said it will have partnerships with about 1,000 companies by 2020. To bolster its partnerships with more startups, it will also establish an Open Innovation Lab in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, just south of Seoul.