KT joins NATO's defense communications standards dialogue
KT CEO Park Yoon-young discusses the company's artificial intelligence business plan during a corporate day event in Yeouido, Seoul, Aug. 12. Yonhap
KT is joining the ninth meeting of the NATO Wireless Communications Standardization Project (NWCSP), becoming the first Korean telecom company to take part as a 5G and 6G standardization expert.
The meeting, hosted by Korea’s Ministry of National Defense and the Telecommunications Technology Association, kicked off its four-day run on Monday, drawing about 100 officials from defense and government agencies, as well as telecom and standards experts from Korea and abroad.
Participants will discuss the use of 5G and 6G technologies in defense applications and the development of standards for next-generation military communications.
NWCSP is a civil-military cooperation project involving government officials and private sector experts from NATO member and partner countries to discuss the military use and standardization of next-generation mobile communications technologies. The project holds three in-person meetings a year, with its previous edition held in San Diego in May.
Throughout the meeting, KT will share its experience deploying commercial 5G technology for defense applications and discuss guidelines for adopting 5G and 6G in military communications.
“Applying commercial mobile technologies such as 5G and 6G to the defense sector is a challenge that the private and defense sectors need to address together,” said Kim Won-tae, KT’s head of the public and financial business division.
“By participating in this meeting, KT will further strengthen civil-military cooperation with the Ministry of National Defense and other relevant agencies, and actively contribute to international standardization discussions on next-generation defense communications technologies.”
Participants will also share updates on 5G and 6G development and defense applications in their respective countries and review draft standards for technologies such as satellite communications and wireless backhaul. They will also discuss standards aimed at ensuring interoperability among communications systems used by participating countries.
KT said its participation will help strengthen cooperation with Korea’s defense authorities and contribute to international discussions on next-generation military communications.