LG Uplus Corp., a major South Korean telecom operator, said Thursday it aims to increase sales from its smart factory solutions business by sevenfold within five years as part of its broader push to boost its enterprise-focused services.

The telecom operator has recently been developing industrial solutions that use its 4G and 5G networks to automate workload and improve safety.

The carrier said in an online briefing its smart factory solutions are currently used in 150 locations across the country by around 100 corporate clients.

It expects the smart factory market between local telecom operators to be worth up to 200 billion won ($171.3 million) annually in five years, with hopes to secure more than half of the market.

The move comes as LG Uplus' enterprise infrastructure solution sector, which includes its smart factory business, logged sales of 134.2 billion won in the second quarter, up 34.3 percent on-year.

The carrier has recently shifted focus toward business beyond its traditional wireless network service, with CEO Hwang Hyeon-sik saying in July that he aims to raise the company's share of sales from non-telecom services to 30 percent of the total by 2025 from the current 20 percent.

LG Uplus said it has revamped its smart factory business into 12 services, which include a motor diagnosis solution that uses a big data-based algorithm to predict signs of motor malfunction in factories by analyzing electrical data.

The telecom operator also offers a smart video safety system that analyzes video and sound in real time to detect and notify safety issues, including sparks, smoke or steam, and abnormal temperatures.

The company said the smart factory solutions on its wireless network are an improvement over existing services that use Wi-Fi as they offer more stable connection while moving. (Yonhap)