SK Telecom today announced that it has signed an MOU with Ericsson for joint research on 5G-related technologies, extending their existing cooporation in research and development to the fifth generation of mobile technology. SK Telecom aims to demonstrate 5G at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics.
The two companies have streamlined potential technologies essential for evolution to 5G which include next generation small cells, ultra-wideband, low latency technology that could be used for remote driving, FDD/TDD convergence technology and gigabyte-level data transmission technology.
The partnership will enable both SK Telcom and Ericsson to spearhead research to identify opportunities and accelerate the deployment of the 5G, topping their existing roles in pushing the technology forward. SK Telecoms currently chairs the ‘5G Forum’ established by South Korea's Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning with industry-academia partnership while Ericsson plays a significant role via active involvement in approximately 150 industry fora, standardization bodies and global research activities such as METIS and 5G-PPP.
“SK Telecom is pleased to work with Ericsson to lead 5G network technology. We will continue to lead development of technologies for the era of the next generation network.”
- Park Jin-hyo, Senior Vice President and Head of Network Technology R&D Center, SK Telecom
“Korea is clearly leading in the uptake of LTE, in terms of technology and subscriber uptake, and SK Telecom is the largest mobile carrier in their market. They are early drivers of technology and we see them as an important partner in defining new opportunities, innovations and requirements for the continued evolution of LTE and towards 5G.”
- Thomas Norén, Vice President and Head of Product Area Radio, Ericsson
