SK Telecom selects Samsung to deploy the world’s first commercial Internet of Things (IoT)-dedicated nationwide LoRaWAN network in Korea. The network will be deployed using the 900 MHz frequency band. LoRaWAN is part of the Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN), a group of technologies optimized to transmit small amounts of data at very low speeds of below 5Kbps.
According to SK Telecom, the LoRaWAN commercial service is scheduled to launch in Daegu, Korea’s fourth largest city next month and will be available nationwide by the middle of this year. Daegu will serve as a test bed for the IoT network, and will focus on infrastructure for renewable energy solutions, cloud platforms and big data analytics of healthcare and medical services, as well as electric vehicle infrastructure for autonomous cars, according to a statement by Samsung.
LoRaWAN IoT networks use an unlicensed, public spectrum called the Industrial Scientific and Medical (ISM) frequency band. To prevent degradation of other industrial communications already using the ISM band, the network will support the Listen Before Talk (LBT) function. A new service model, the Internet of Small Things (IoST), will also be introduced as a key facilitator for more use cases utilizing the LPWAN.
Lee Jong-bong, Executive Vice President and Head of Infra Division at SK Telecom
SK Telecom will continue to work closely with partners including Samsung to deliver new value and convenience to both individual and enterprise customers over the IoT network.
Youngky Kim, President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics
We are very pleased to partner with SK Telecom for its pioneering IoT vision. Samsung will contribute in creating the ecosystem for enabling significant changes driven by new IoT services.
