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Still getting used to 4G? South Korean telco SK Telecom is planning to launch a “globally standardised 5G network service by 2020″
Image Credit: Gilles Lambert
South Korea-based telecommunications conglomerate SK Telecom has opened 5G Global Innovation Center in the sururbs on Seoul, that will work on fifth-generation (5G) networks.
The telco plans to launch a 5G trial by 2017, and run a “globally-standardised 5G network service by 202o”, reported The Korea Times yesterday.
To do so, SK Telecom is working hand in hand with other tech companies like Samsung Electronics, Ericsson, Nokia, Intel and Rohde & Schwartz.
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Choi Jin-sung, CTO, SK Telecom said, “So far, we have talked about the 5G only from the perspective of providers including telecom operators, network equipment vendors and device makers. But I believe more important things are the services which can realise scientific concepts that can improve customers’ lives, experiences and value.”
South Korea is indeed on top of its tech game, especially when it comes to improving infrastructure like mobile networks. While many other countries in Asia — and the world — are still getting used to 3G or 4G networks, it is already working on better and faster connections.
According to a Q3 2015 interactive survey done by Open Signal, South Korea came in fourth in terms of global LTE download speeds, and top in terms of LTE coverage. “Customers on its (South Korean) networks are able to connect to LTE 97 per cent of the time, making 4G almost as pervasive as 2G and 3G networks in that country,” it read.
Open Signal Q3 2015 LTE Coverage by country
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