5G+ Strategy of the Republic of Korea

Back in April this year, the South Korean Ministry of Science and ICT provided details not just about 5G commercialization but also about the future 5G+ strategy. This post combines that announcement with a recent presentation by the Ministry at UN ESCAP:

The Korean government celebrated world’s first 5G commercialization in Olympic Park on April 8 2019 and shared the national vision for realizing an innovative growth in the 5G era. On that day, the Korean government announced the ‘5G+ Strategy’ as a way to create new industries and services based on 5G and pledged to establish the world’s best 5G ecosystem moving on from being world’s first. In particular, the Korean government proposed the goal to reach 180 trillion won in productivity, 73 billion dollars in export and create 600,000 quality jobs by 2026, through promoting 5G+strategic industries (major 10 industries and 5 services).

As an effort to nurture 5G-based new industries and markets and improve the quality of people’s lives, 52 specific tasks under the following major five strategic areas will be implemented.

1. secure early market and improve people’s quality of life through taking initiative in investing in public sector
2. create testbed for expanding investment in private sector and develop industries
3. support 5G service facilitation and user protection through system maintenance
4. nurture globally recognized innovative enterprises and talents through establishment of industrial foundation
5. globalize Korea’s 5G technologies and services through providing support to overseas expansion

Demonstration and spread of 5G+ core services
provide support in identifying and demonstrating profit models in 5 core areas in the private sector (2018~2021) ⇨ carry out 5G+ innovation project for deployment and spread of services (2021~2025)

1. immersive content: real time hologram performance for remote areas
2. smart factory: solution development for each industry and spread of industrial complex
3. autonomous vehicle: develop and distribute 5G self-driving shuttle buses
4. smart city: emergency rescue service in fire sites
5. digital healthcare: emergency medical service between ambulances and hospitals

Support demand creation in public sector

• (SOC) support safe and efficient management of infrastructure and deteriorated facility
• (infrastructure) carry out ‘5G+ smart SOC project’(2020~) for establishing real time monitoring system (utilization of 5G robots and CCTVs etc.) on road, port and airport etc.
• (life support facility) support real time 5G-based safety monitoring in educational and cultural facility (2020~)
• (deteriorated nuclear power plant) develop and adopt safe, 5G-based nuclear power plant decommissioning technologies such as real time monitoring of high risk work sites and identifying biometrics of workers (2020~2023)
• (utilize cutting-edge device) create 5G device market based on public demand
• (robot) carry out 5G public service robot (guide robot on public facility etc.) pilot project (2020~)
• (drone) support R&D and demonstration of 5G drone service such as public safety, environment and measurement (2020~) and develop 5G drones for mail delivery (2019~2021) and connect this to public procurement
• (CCTV) implement 5G intelligent CCTV R&D and demonstration as well as disaster safety pilot service (2021~)

improve people’s quality of life through 5G public service deployment

• (5G+ life sustaining project) distribute 5G solutions* based on public demand for improving people’s livelihood in areas such as education, agriculture and environment and resolving regional social issues (2021~)
• * e.g. (immersive education) provide 5G-based, VR and AR remote education and training for local and vocational schools, (smart agriculture) deploy 5G unmanned tractors and drones, (environmental monitoring) 5G-based, real time fine dust monitoring etc.  
• (improve medical service) implement ‘5G-based collaborative telemedicine pilot project’ for hospitals and clinics (2020~) → increase the portion of the medical facility with scale similar to or larger than that of general hospital to 50% by 2023

create 5G-based smart city

• (national pilot city) establish data and AI center in pilot city for building data-based intelligent urban operating system in connection with 5G (2020~2022)
• (existing city) support expansion of 5G-based smart city technologies by active deployment of 5G to projects in turning existing cities into smart cities such as smart city challenge (2019~)

Expand private investment by:

1. tax credit and investment

• provide tax credits to network investment (2~3% for 2019-2020) for inducing early deployment of nationwide 5G network and invest in innovation companies by engaging in financial programs driving new growth*
• * program supporting advancement in industrial structure (10 trillion won for 2019-2021), KP Inno fund (1.2 trillion won for 2019∼2022), smart factory fund (300 billion won for 2019∼2021) etc.

2. establish 5G testbeds and demonstration infrastructure

• (establish testbeds) establish 13 5G testbeds and demonstration infrastructure in five areas including various 5G terminals and equipments, 5G Vehicular-to-Everything*(V2X) communications, 5G drones** and edge computing
• * provide support in verification of 5G autonomous driving performance on real roads in K-City(Hwaseong), Pangyo zero city and Sangam of Seoul (2019∼)
• ** establish 5G test infrastructure in 5 drone flying test sites which are in the process of construction (Yeongwol, Gosang, Boeun etc.) (2020∼2021)
• provide internationally accredited certificate service for supporting 5G terminal and V2X exports (2019~)
• (5G challenge) hold contests for demonstration and expansion of 5G autonomous vehicles and drones
• (establish clusters) establish ‘Songpa mobile cluster’ which has expanded the existing function of supporting radiowave and security industry to providing support to 5G equipment development and demonstration (2020~2025)

3. promote 5G technology commercialization of SMEs

• (network equipment) increase support for R&D of technology commercialization in 5G equipment (small cell, repeater, modem etc.) of small and medium-sized enterprises (to take up 25%(2017) → 35%(2020) out of mobile communication R&D)
• (purchase conditional R&D) expand R&D support for commercialization of SMEs based on demand for purchasing 5G-based new technologies and products of public institutions and foreign countries

4. support facilitation of 5G content market

• carry out ‘5G content flagship project*’ and secure infrastructure for development hub (2019~) for creating major 10 globally recognized 5G content by 2022
• * e.g. (immersive media) 360° VR sports streaming, (immersive communication) hologram video conference, (immersive life) VR shopping, (industry convergence) control AR factory and farm, (public service) VR safety education

5. support innovation of productivity in leading industries

• (smart factory) support gradual distribution* of 5G factory solutions optimized for innovating manufacturing and processing of small and medium sized enterprises to 1000 factories by 2022 (2020~2022)
• * target for establishment: 200 (2020) → 300 (2021) → 500 (2022)
• (shipbuilding) secure core technologies of ‘smart yard’ (2021~) providing support to demonstration of 5G-based smart telecom environment establishment in shipyard (2020~2023) and technologies which automate and optimize processing
• (maritime port) establish smart maritime port logistics system which is automatic and intelligent based on 5G (pilot project: 4 ports including Busan Port and Gwangyang Port) (2019~)
• (energy) set up an optimal energy generation system through real time 5G and big data processing in order to respond to expansion of renewable energy (solar energy etc.) generation complex (2020~2023)
• (manufacturing AR) provide pilot AR service (AR manual, AR remote support etc.) in the field of manufacturing to small and medium sized enterprises in relation to 5G smart factory distribution (2020~)

Support 5G service facilitation and user protection through system maintenance

1. telecom service plan and system maintenance

• (launch 5G service plan) induce the launch of service plan* which does not rapidly increase household burden on telecom fee, so that citizens can use various 5G services (April 2019~)
• * continue to reduce rate for data per unit compared to LTE from the first 5G service plan
• (support B2B facilitation) improve service plan to be flexible enough to reflect various 5G services such as autonomous vehicles and smart factories (2019~)

2. secure radiowave resources and improve regulations

• (allocate frequency) double frequency for 5G service by 2026 (2,680MHz bandwidth as of now → 5,190MHz bandwidth) and allocate frequency for 5G convergence service (autonomous vehicle and smart factory etc.) (2019~)
• (improve regulations) support ease of administrative burden through measures including introduction of ‘frequency license system’ (revise radiowave act, 2019~) which integrates and simplifies the process of frequency allocation and radio station establishment

3. create the safest user environment

• (cyber safety) establish preventive system for cyber security breaches such as designating 5G core facilities to be critical IT infrastructure and coming up with ICT convergence security system* (revise the act on information communications network, 2019~) 
• * legal grounds in relation to IoT device and service security, recommendations for convergence service security standard etc.
• (reinforce stability of communication networks) establish communication disaster prevention and response system such as expanding subjects to government inspection to all of major communication facilities (80→870) and securing detour route for signal transmission between facilities etc.

4. regulatory innovation for 5G convergence service

• identify items for regulatory improvement in connection to regulatory sandbox and pilot project and ease regulations for location based information project (grant system → registration system, revise location information act)

5. bridge digital divide and protect users

• (bridge digital divide) reinforce accessibility to new terminals and services for the vulnerable class (the disabled and elderly) and expand education for utilizing intelligent information service focused on real life experiences (VR, AR etc.)
• (principles of protecting users) set principles to prevent new kinds of damages done to users and strengthen their rights amid expansion of 5G convergence service and intelligent information technologies (2019~)

Further details:

• Korea to Announce 5G+ Strategy Pledging to Provide World’s Best 5G Service Based on World’s First 5G Commercialization (April 8)
• UN ESCAP presentation by Ministry of Science and ICT

Related Posts:

• Current IMT Spectrum Allocation in South Korea
• All three mobile network operators in South Korea launched 5G on Dec 1, 2018

SK Telecom's 5G Strategy and Services

No doubt SK Telecom is one the operators leading the way on 5G. Here we look at some of their exciting upcoming initiatives that will change the everyday lives of their customers.

Firstly regarding autonomous driving: SK Telecom and Seoul Metropolitan Government have entered into an agreement to jointly develop and verify HD Map technologies for autonomous driving. They will cooperate on the development of services for HD Map covering a total of 121 kilometers of public roads. These roads have been selected by Seoul’s Cooperative-Intelligent Transport System (C-ITS) project, by installing 5G Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) to 1,600 buses and 100 taxis. This project is designed to develop a transportation system infrastructure, including a 5G network and V2X system, on major roads of Seoul. In January this year, SK Telecom won a contract to deploy 5G infrastructure and services in the area. A total of 1,700 units of 5G ADAS installed in buses and taxis will collect 124 different types of road/traffic information and transmit the data via 5G network to support real-time update of the HD map. 5G ADAS, installed in public transportation vehicles, are designed to support vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication.

SK Telecom and the Seoul Government also intend to create an autonomous driving ecosystem by opening up related infrastructure such as HD maps and data collected by 5G ADAS. The operator has announced a collaboration with three Korean cities — Songdo, Yeongjong, and Cheongna — to use 5G for “HD maps” that will cover 132.9 square kilometers down to the centimeter, including lanes, road slopes, and speed limits. They expect that the maps will be updated in real time with changes including road conditions, all in the service of enabling self-driving vehicles to safely travel the roads.

Regarding the introduction of 5G technology into hospitals; SK Telecom has signed a MOU with Yonsei University Health System to provide digital solutions across 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), and the Internet of Things (IoT) for their hospital intended to open in February 2020.

According to SK Telecom:

"The 5G-powered digital hospital will be equipped with SK Telecom's AI speaker NUGU to enable patients with physical difficulties to easily control their beds, lighting, and TV with their voice. They can even use NUGU Call service to get medical assistance in case of emergencies. Moreover, the 5G-powered digital hospital will offer AR-based indoor navigation service through the application of indoor positioning and 3D-mapping technologies to enhance the convenience of patients and visitors."

Patients in isolation wards will also be able to receive visitors via holographic projections, the carrier said, while facial recognition technology will be used for medical workers to improve security.

"Authorised personnel can automatically gain access to buildings, labs, and other rooms through a facial recognition access control system.Unlike other access control systems that require some kind of contact -- fingerprint, pass, etc -- the face recognition system allows contact-free entry to help reduce the risk of infection."

SK Telecom and the Yonsei University Health System will continue to apply innovative 5G-based hospital solutions to the Yongin Severance Hospital and then to all hospitals under the Yonsei University Health System.

Regarding augmented and virtual reality these are key areas of focus for the operator. Using augmented reality technology, the large fire-breathing dragon was streamed flying around the SK Happy Dream Park during the opening day of the Korea Baseball Organization.

The dragon was streamed both to the LED baseball scoreboard installed at the stadium and via sports broadcasting channels for fans watching the game on TV and smartphones.

To achieve large scale augmented reality streaming, SK Telecom used its self-developed augmented and virtual reality technologies including the eSpace and T real Platform solutions.

The demonstration arose from SK Telecom's focus on the development of 5G-based services to support its commercial network, which launched in December last year.

Another major way SK Telecom want to incorporate this new technology into everyday life is through 5G-powered offices.

One such technology applied to the 5G smart office is a “5G walking-through system,” where people can pass through the entrance via face recognition. Employees had been required to carry identification tags to get through security at the entrance.

Workers are also able to convene remote conferences similar to those seen in sci-fi movies. While not as advanced as creating holograms in the real world, attendees could talk to each other’s avatars in cyberspace.

The telecom company said it established the smart systems at its office in Seoul and has been operating it as a test bed. It plans to develop and specify business models in cooperation with cloud service providers as well as hardware and software partners.

SK Telecom said it installed IoT sensors at places such as ceilings and corridors of the office to collect information on temperature, brightness and humidity. Such information is delivered to servers in real time, and air conditioners and other devices are controlled automatically.

The 5G virtual desktop infrastructure (VID) docking system enables to workers to do their work even if they do not have a laptop or PC by connecting their smartphones to the docking pad. "T real telepresence" is a system combining VR and AR technologies, enabling workers at different locations to have a meeting and watch visual materials together though simultaneous log-ins. The 5G cafeteria offers an unmanned vending machine powered by AI technology as well as a barista robot.

In fact the South Korea’s government recently announced that it expects its robot industry to grow to 15 trillion won ($12.6 billion) by 2023, from 5.7 trillion won in 2018. On March 21 it said supporting the industry is a key national goal. Some of the growth will come from the use of robots in elder care, medicine, and logistics, as well as in entertainment and other service industries.

SK Telecom is making an AI speaker that will project holograms of K-pop stars and other celebrities. The technology is being developed for use in concerts and other performances. 

“AI would become like friends that could be accessible anywhere and anytime,” says Cho Ikhwan, a leader of the augmented-reality and virtual-reality development team at SK Telecom. “It’s a totally new experience to feel AI robots come alive.”

In the Brooklyn 5G Summit Recently, Mr. Jong Kwan Park, SK Telecom, gives a snapshot of the Korean 5G customer and the achievements of the company regarding its 5G journey and deployment specifications. The talk is embedded below:

Further reading on SK Telecom:

• SK Telecom Mobile Network History and 5G
• Current IMT Spectrum Allocation in South Korea
• SK Telecom & Samsung performs 5G EN-DC tests, achieve 2.65 Gbps
• SK Telecom achieves 3.9 Gbps in tests by triple-coupling of 5G, LTE and Wi-Fi

SK Telecom achieves 3.9 Gbps in tests by triple-coupling of 5G, LTE and Wi-Fi

Earlier this month we wrote about how "SK Telecom & Samsung performs 5G EN-DC tests, achieve 2.65 Gbps". We also explained this is mainly because of the large bandwidths available to each of the South Korean operator.

In another news (in Korean only), SK Telecom announced that they have achieved up to 3.9 Gbps by triple connectivity (triple-coupled or triple-aggregation) between 5G, LTE & Wi-Fi

.@SKtelecom has now verified 'triple aggregation' using Samsung's Galaxy S10 5G in its commercial network. If the 5G-only 1.5 Gbps isn't fast enough for you, there's 5G+4G (2.7 Gbps) and now 5G+4G+Wi-Fi with up to 3.9 Gbps. https://t.co/O1PIfDE2q7 pic.twitter.com/Jp3E8FtCQB

— tefficient 🚥 (@tefficient) March 25, 2019

The press release says (using Google translate):

* [5G-LTE-WiFi 3-Step Coupling Technology 'following' 5G-LTE Coupling '] Fastest 4Gbp
* Applied '5G media compression technology' to reduce media data consumption by more than 30%

SK Telecom has completed the key test for mass production of "Galaxy S10 5G" on 25th, followed by 2.7Gbps class 5G + LTE combination technology and "quantum cryptography" network.

For the past two months, SK Telecom has tested thousands of items including '5G Device Test Lab' in Bundang's office building, and interoperability testing between 5G network and smartphone, interface verification, and frequency compatibility at commercial sites. We also made a scenario-specific test by creating more than 100 virtual environments using special equipment in the laboratory.

'5G device test lab' and commercial network performance test is required to be able to launch the smartphone formal. This is why the process is called the final gateway to commercialization. With the completion of the core test, the launch of the world's No. 1 5G smartphone is expected to be smooth.

In the next step, SK Telecom will conduct a delivery inspection this week for mass-produced products produced at factories. The company plans to make its first launch of the 5G smartphone without any problem.

In addition, SK Telecom is preparing to hire a new 5G technology such as '5G Media Compression Technology' to reduce data consumption and 'Galaxy S10 5G'.


"5G-LTE-WiFi 3-stage coupling technology" is followed by "5G-LTE combining technology"

SK Telecom succeeded in verifying '5G-LTE combining technology' that speeds up to 2.7Gbps on November 11, and it was installed first in 'Galaxy S10 5G'.

Furthermore, SK Telecom implemented the "Triple Aggregation", which uses ▲ 5G ▲ LTE ▲ Wi-Fi for data transmission at the same time, in the Galaxy S10 5G, and completed the verification in the 5G commercial network.

The 'three-tier technology' allows users to download content or applications up to 3.9 Gbps in areas where three networks are simultaneously deployed. In just 4 seconds you can get a movie (2GB) on the other hand.

SK Telecom has upgraded Multi-Path TCP (MPTCP), a technology that connects LTE and Wi-Fi, and implemented the '3-step combining technology' preemptively to the Galaxy S10 5G.
...

#Korea #5G SKT and KT announce different strategies. SKT to implement dual-connectivity LTE-NR w. max speeds >2Gbps (demo 2.65Gbps) but KT will not because dual connectivity means higher LTE latency. It means KT will offer lower max speeds (still 1Gbps) than SKT but lower latency

— Rémy Pascal (@remypascal) March 27, 2019

To clarify, KT will not implement "combined LTE-NR DL". In other words its NSA, LTE control, data can be from NR or LTE but not the two simultaneously

— Rémy Pascal (@remypascal) March 28, 2019

Some people are quick to point out the different strategies by different South Korean operators. Dual connectivity means higher speeds but higher latency too while standalone will means lower latency and maybe lower data rates initially.

As we have pointed out, the South Korean operators have already got large amounts of 5G spectrum so speeds will be no issue in long run.

SK Telecom & Samsung performs 5G EN-DC tests, achieve 2.65 Gbps

South Korean MNO SK Telecom and Samsung Electronics has announced that they have successfully completed the network device interoperability test applying Dual Connectivity technology using both 4G and 5G networks provided by Samsung’s Networks Business, a.k.a. ‘E-UTRAN New Radio Dual Connectivity (EN-DC)’ based on the 3GPP Release-15 5G New Radio (NR) standard.

Before proceeding further, if you are not aware of different 5G Network Architecture Options (including EN-DC), you may want to check out our tutorial on 3G4G page here.

According to the Samsung press release:

During the test, both companies have successfully achieved 2.65Gbps in data speeds on the 5G smartphone, combining both 1.5Gbps in 5G using 3.5GHz frequency (100MHz bandwidth) with 1.15Gbps in LTE using 1.8GHz, 2.1GHz, and 2.6GHz frequencies (65MHz bandwidth) all of which are for commercial use by SK Telecom.

The test, carried out at Samsung Electronics located in Suwon, Korea, used Samsung’s commercial 4G and 5G NR end-to-end networks solutions which have been provided to the operator’s current service. In addition, companies used Samsung’s virtual core (vCore) that supports simultaneous 4G and 5G as well as its Galaxy S10 5G, Samsung’s first 5G smartphone which was unveiled last month.

SK Telecom, in particular, will be able to boost the overall transmission data speed by 80% by leveraging the 4G and 5G dual connectivity. It will allow users who are staying in the 5G service coverage to download UHD videos of 2GB in just 6 seconds, and large video content such as 4K VR video of 10GB in less than 30 seconds.

The two companies demonstrated the delivery of multi-gigabit speeds for 5G device, with a focus on seamless user experiences. Wherever mobile service subscribers are without being limited to 4G or 5G service areas, they can expect seamless, consistent, and stable mobile services. In the early stages of 5G era, the combined capabilities of 4G and 5G networks are important forces for mobile carriers to maximize the characteristics of the 5G network – ultra-fast speed, low-latency, and massive-connectivity by leveraging widely deployed 4G network coverage.

The success of the demonstration by SK Telecom and Samsung signifies a blueprint of early 5G deployment, spotlighting a rapid, stable and effective path to 5G service using a dual 4G and 5G approach.

This success is part of an ongoing collaboration between SK Telecom and Samsung of many years. Pushing forward early 5G commercialization, the companies have succeeded in the world’s first 4G and 5G interworking back in 2017 and world’s first 5G Next-Generation Core (5G NC) trial in June 2018, which featured control and user planes separation and VNFs implementation based on 3GPP release 15 standard. These joint forces have led Samsung to become a major partner for SK Telecom to successfully launch 5G mobility commercial service in Korea, December 1st 2018.


Related posts:

• SK Telecom Mobile Network History and 5G
• All three mobile network operators in South Korea launched 5G on Dec 1, 2018
• Current IMT Spectrum Allocation in South Korea

Current IMT Spectrum Allocation in South Korea

The slide below summarises the IMT spectrum allocation before 5G (source presentation)

On 1st Dec 2018, all three operators launched commercial 5G networks simultaneously. The plan was to have nationwide commercial 5G services available for everyone by March 2019 but this date has just been postponed. According to Mobile World Live:

The news outlet cited a number of setbacks as hindering SK Telecom, KT and LG UPlus’ target. Handset availability is presumed to be the main factor in the delay, but the government has also rejected proposed 5G pricing plans submitted by operators.

“Commercialisation of 5G is possible when various factors such as network, smartphones and service are ready”, the country’s Ministry of Science and ICT said in a statement.

While it did not commit to an alternative date for consumer service launch, the ministry said it is coordinating with SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus, along with device makers Samsung and LG Electronics on the matter, the news agency reported.

5G Spectrum has already been auctioned in South Korea with each operator winning 800 MHz in 28 GHz band (high throughput layer) and in C-band (capacity layer), LGU+ received 80 MHz in 3.4 GHz band, KT received 100 MHz in 3.5 GHz band while SK Telecom received 100 MHz in 3.6 GHz band.

All operators are ideally placed with regards to spectrum to role the best possible commercial 5G services there can be. We will just have to wait a bit longer but will happen in 2019 for sure.

All three mobile network operators in South Korea launched 5G on Dec 1, 2018

Last week we mentioned that all three South Korean operators will be launching 5G jointly in March 2019. In the meantime a decision was made and 5G was launched on Dec 1, 2018. We hope to get more details in the coming few weeks but we added few videos and pictures on this on our tweets. They are embedded below.

South Korea 5G Launch


The following is also a video from the 5G launch by SK Telecom



*** Added 29 Jan 2019 ***
A video of 5G launch in South Korea was posted by Ericsson but subsequently removed

*** Added 01 Sep 2019 ***

South Korea Telcos: United in 5G Launch

South Korea has ambitions to be the first country to roll-out 5G and their three major mobile operators will work together to launch 5G networks at the same time in 2019 to “avoid excessive competition” and ensure the country is the first to launch the next-generation technology. This is discounting the fact that San Marino already launched nationwide 5G but its just a city state and the 5G launch does not really qualify to be considered a nationwide launch

SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus have agreed to jointly introduce 5G services on “Korea 5G Day”, which is likely to be sometime in March 2019.

The South Korean government in April of this year mandated that operators collaborate on 5G deployments by sharing core fibre infrastructure, rather than RANs, in a bid to reduce the cost of rolling out the technology and so enable operators to pass on the savings to customers.

The triumvirate of mobile carriers plan to provide 5G services using mobile routers providing mobile connections for Wi-Fi devices, first rather than smartphones. The services on smartphones will be available a month later.

In an interview with The Korea Times, ICT Minister Yoo Young-min stressed the need for the government and companies to closely cooperate to reach the goal:

"The world's first 5G commercialization is very meaningful in that Korea will have an advantageous position in the global market and take the leadership. Amid intensifying competition among global mobile carriers, it is significant for the government and companies to join hands and reach the goal together."

There has been much speculation and discussion on who would be chosen to supply the 5G network equipment.

KT has chosen Samsung Electronics, Ericsson and Nokia. As expected, Huawei was excluded from the list. They elaborated:

“In choosing 5G equipment providers, the company considered a wide range of factors: the level of technology, investment costs and management stability based on the compatibility with the existing LTE network.”

SK Telecom named Samsung Electronics, Ericsson and Nokia as its 5G equipment providers. SK Telecom have recently opened one of their first commercial fifth-generation base stations in the central area of Seoul. Using equipment manufactured by Samsung Electronics, SKT introduced a 24-kilogram rectangular active antenna unit for the 3.5-gigahertz frequency band -- 1 meter in height and 23 centimeters in width -- installed at the rooftop of a small hotel building in Myeong-dong, one of the most crowded areas in Seoul. Compared to the fourth-generation Long Term Evolution antenna units hung at the rooftop railing, the 5G antenna unit consisting of a total of 32 individual antennas looked noticeably smaller and more compact, requiring just 10 square-meters of space for installation. 

Huawei was also excluded by them for the second time now despite having participated in internal tests along with the three selected.

SKT and KT’s choices were anticipated because both had used equipment from Samsung, Ericsson and Nokia for their 4G LTE networks.

LG U+ is the only one among Korea’s three mobile carriers that has not yet announced 5G equipment suppliers. The smallest mobile carrier is likely to include Huawei on its list. It partnered with the Chinese company for its 4G LTE network, along with Samsung, Ericsson and Nokia.

The biggest advantage of Huawei’s 5G equipment is cost efficiency. The Chinese company is known to charge prices that are 20 to 30 percent lower than other global competitors for high-quality 5G equipment. However the major issue with Huawei are the security concerns.

Due to its ties to the Chinese government, there have been worries that the company’s equipment may be used for spying. In August of this year, the U.S. and Australian governments banned Huawei from supplying equipment for their 5G wireless infrastructure citing security reasons. Britain said in July it “is less confident” about the integrity of Huawei products.

Huawei has been denying such allegations.

In a press release last month, the Chinese tech company highlighted that, despite ongoing security concerns, there has been zero cases of actual information leakage in the past.

Samsung is aiming to control 20 percent of the global market for 5G network equipment in 2020, the head of the company's network business has said. Samsung Electronics President Kim Young-ky claimed that the company is not a newcomer to the network equipment industry as it has been supplying products in this field for the past 20 years. According to the data compiled by industry tracker Dell'Oro, Samsung Electronics took up 11 percent of the global market for fourth-generation (4G) network equipment in the second quarter of this year.


Related Posts:

• SK Telecom Mobile Network History and 5G
• KT's 5G Plan
• South Korea: KT ready to roll-out 5G in 2019

SK Telecom Mobile Network History and 5G

SK Telecom has a long history of being world's first but that may not necessarily hold true for 5G. There have been so many claims of "first in the world" that it is even difficult to keep track of who has been launching what kind of 5G.

The picture above summarizes SK Telecom's plan for 5G launch, early to mid 2019. The presentation, delivered to ITU is available here.


Related Posts:

• USA gets two faux 5G networks
• Lesotho: First 5G launch in Africa
• Orange Romania: 1st European 5G multi-vendor Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) test
• San Marino launches first nationwide 5G network
• Three Middle East Operators launch 'World's First' 5G Networks

South Korea MNOs to build Shared 5G infrastructure

According to Yonhap News Agency:

South Korea's mobile carriers and an Internet service provider will share the burden of building the costly infrastructure for a high-end fifth-generation network, which they will then share in using, officials said Tuesday.  

The move could save about 1 trillion won (US$938 million) over the next 10 next years, as it would keep SK Telecom Co., KT Corp., LG Uplus Inc. and SK Broadband Inc. from making redundant investments, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT.  

The four companies will together build the nationwide infrastructure, such as base stations for the 5G network, though details on how much each firm will pay are set to be finalized during the first half of this year, it said.  

The ministry did not elaborate on its estimation of the cost of building the 5G network. 

We recently blogged about KT's ambition to roll out 5G in 2019 here.

One of the reasons the shared infrastructure makes sense is because while most of the world will be rolling out initial 5G network in sub-6GHz band (mainly between 3.4 - 3.8 GHz), South Korea is looking at 28 GHz band. While technically millimeter waves start at 30 GHz (or they are known as centimeter waves or cmWaves below that), anything above 20GHz is often referred to as mmWave. 

Very few networks have commited to mmWave 5G rollout initially. Main commitments are from US operators (AT&T and Verizon), South Korea and Japan.

Chinese carriers dominate global operator ranking as M&A deals shake up US market

All three Chinese mobile operators feature in the top ten in GSMA Intelligence’s latest ranking of mobile operator groups, underlying China’s status as the world’s largest mobile market.

The study ranks global operators using a model based on reported mobile connections and mobile revenue (see methodology below). China Mobile was comfortably the largest group by both measures, reaching 790.6 million mobile connections and recording annualised revenue of £66.4 billion for the period to Q2 2014. China Mobile’s two domestic rivals, China Unicom and China Telecom, are ranked third and tenth, respectively.

The remaining positions in the top ten were filled predominantly by operator groups with substantial global footprints across multiple markets, including Vodafone, Telefónica, América Móvil, Deutsche Telekom, Orange and VimpelCom.

Notes on methodology
Subsidiaries are included within a parent group as per reported consolidation. Minority holdings (less than 50 percent plus one share) are included where a group does so within its audited financial statements.

Data for connections is shown as the period-ending value, excluding customers from any subsidiaries that have been divested over the course of the year. Revenue data is annualised, such that revenue attributed to any qualifying subsidiary is included on a quarterly basis over the four quarters provided the subsidiary meets the rules for consolidation in the respective quarter.

The ranking gives equal weighting to period-ending connections and annualised mobile revenue in determining final positions. The ranking by connections and revenue is combined to give an overall ‘score’, with a lower combined score ranking higher. For example, Vodafone is ranked second by connections and fifth by revenue, giving it a combined score of 7 (2+5). This ranks the group second behind China Mobile, which scores 2 (1+1), as it the largest group by both connections and revenue. Where scores are tied, the rank by connections is used as the deciding factor.

Source

South Korea: Operator Overview

There are three mobile phone service providers:

Korea Telecom

Korea Telecom (KT) in 2002 absorbed KT Freetel (KTF), its mobile phone service provider, and offers its services, using HSPA and LTE networks. It is currently deploying an LTE network.

LG U Plus

LG U Plus (LG U+), a member of LG Group, also provides CDMA2000 and LTE networks.

SK Telecom

SK Telecom (SKT) of SK Group also offers its service, using CDMA2000, HSPA and LTEnetworks.

Market Share:

There market shares of the three companies are believed to be:
SK Telecom's 50 percent,
Korea Telecom's 30 percent
LG Telecom's 20 percent.

Regarding the Korean mobile phone industry's overseas experiences, SK Telecom has helped the first mobile phone service companies in Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Cambodia, etc. In China, it helped China Unicom's CDMA implementation, both technically and financially.
Samsung and LG have the largest market shares in Korea. Nokia already discontinued its sales operations in Korea.
As of March 2009, the number of mobile subscribers in Korea nearing 46 million total mobile subscribers and the nation’s penetration rate almost 100%. Mobile telecommunications services in South Korea are served by three operators: SKT (SKTelecom), KTF (Korea Telecom Freetel), and LGT (LG Telecom). SKT represents 50.50% of the market share, KTF 31.54% and LGT 17.95% as of December 2007. The nation first launched its mobile telecommunication services in 1960.

New data from the South Korean regulator has revealed that the country has over 48 million 'Wireless Internet Connections,' a figure that represents over 90 percent of its total mobile connections base and underlines its position as one of the most advanced mobile markets in the world.

https://gsmaintelligence.com/analysis/2011/10/over-90-of-users-connected-to-the-wireless-internet-in-south-korea/305/

The LTE-Advanced network can download data at speeds twice as fast as 4G networks and 10 times faster than 3G services, according to SK Telecom Co.


More than 60 per cent of South Korea's 33million smartphone users have subscribed to the LTE service.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2348597/LTE-A-Worlds-fastest-wireless-network-launches-South-Korea--film-fans-download-movie-40-seconds.html#ixzz30Szhk5BS

SK Telecom offers unlimited LTE data to subscribers
Subscribers to the operator’s T&All 75+Unlimited Data Option, T&All 85 and T&All 100 plans can take advantage of the unlimited data, calls and messages at no additional cost and without having to sign up to the upgrade. There are around one million subscribers on these plans according to the operator; it has a total of 27.4 million subscribers, according to the latest figures from Informa’s WCIS.

http://www.telecoms.com/240742/sk-telecom-offers-unlimited-lte-data-to-subscribers/

Keeping its first-mover strategy, SK recently announced that it achieved the world’s first commercialization of Uplink CoMP (Uplink Cooperative Multi Point) a technology that will improve mobile data upload speed by 20% on its LTE network. Importantly, since it is applied to base stations, no upgrade is needed for LTE devices. The company said that it plans to implement Uplink CoMP to all its LTE base stations by the end of 2014.
http://www.gurufocus.com/news/256105/an-unbeatable-firstmover-in-the-telecom-world

LTE pioneer SK Telecom has successfully developed LTE-Advanced tri-band carrier aggregation technology, to ease network congestion in built up areas in South Korea.
http://www.telecoms.com/215472/sk-telecom-develops-lte-a-tri-band-carrier-aggregation-technology/

South Korean operator SK Telecom has launched a platform that it says will provide real time information on what its customers are doing. The Context Platform uses data collected by a customer’s smartphone, if it is embedded with the platform, via its camera, GPS, sensors and wifi to discover contextual information about that subscriber.

The firm explained that the platform allows it to make informed guesses about whether  the user is walking, for example, as the handset detects the user’s repeated movement and speed via its sensors and GPS. It then analyses the data it has collected through an algorithm to conclude that the user is “in a walking situation”. SK Telecom added that the more the platform repeats this process of analysis, the more accurate the platform becomes.

The operator said the platform can also make conclusions based on customers’ usage patterns involving social networking, voice calls, SMS and applications.

http://www.telecoms.com/225892/sk-telecom-platform-knows-what-subscribers-are-doing/

http://youtu.be/xRnZP6TWLfY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUqJ7IS5n4w


SK Telecom and LG Uplus, number one and three respectively in South Korea’s mobile market, both claimed a world first on developing three-band carrier aggregation (CA) for LTE-Advanced technology.
SK Telecom plans to demonstrate its triple-band CA technology at this year’s Mobile World Congress, but will be going one step further by aggregating together three lots of 20MHz. This, says SK Telecom, will give top-line speeds of up to 450Mb/s on LTE-Advanced.
According to GSMA Intelligence, South Korea is the world’s most advanced 4G market with penetration as a percentage of total connections passing the 50 per cent mark in Q4 2013. This compares to around a quarter 4G-user penetration in Japan and the US.


http://www.mobileworldlive.com/sk-telecom-lg-uplus-claim-lte-advanced-world-first