SK Telecom announced that – through collaborations with Samsung Electronics and Nokia - it has successfully demonstrated 5G communications using the 3.5GHz band for the first time in Korea.
SK Telecom joined hands with Samsung Electronics to develop a 3.5GHz 5G end-to-end network- comprised of 5G virtualized core, virtualized RAN, Distributed Unit (baseband unit and radio unit) and test device - based on the 3GPP 5G New Radio (5G NR) standards elements established to date.
Moreover, SK Telecom has also worked with Nokia to co-develop 5G base station equipment and test device for the 3.5GHz spectrum and successfully realized Gbps-level throughput during a field trial held near its Bundang Office Building through the application of carrier aggregation techniques to expand bandwidth. The two companies also measured link quality (BLER) depending on the distance between a moving vehicle and base station, thereby securing important data for designing optimal 5G commercial networks in the 3.5GHz band.
SK Telecom plans to roll out its 5G networks by leveraging the respective strength of these frequencies: It will deploy commercial 5G networks using 28GHz in downtown areas where data traffic is most concentrated, while covering wide areas with 3.5GHz 5G networks or a combination of 3.5GHz and 28GHz 5G networks.
Park Jin-hyo, SVP and Head of Network R&D Center of SK Telecom
With the successful demonstration of 5G communications using the 3.5GHz spectrum, SK Telecom has secured all key technologies for building commercial 5G networks using 3.5GHz and 28GHz frequency bands.
Park Dong-soo, EVP and Head of Global Sales & Marketing Team in Network Business, Samsung Electronics
We achieved another milestone today, taking 5G in to the sub-6GHz spectrum for use cases and applications requiring wider area network coverage. The below 6GHz spectrum has been identified by the industry as ideal for enabling 5G services such as autonomous/connected car that require a wider area network.
