SK Telecom, South Korea’s top mobile carrier, said Tuesday it has published the nation’s first white paper on fifth-generation mobile communications technology to introduce the key features and prospects for the industry.

SK Telecom unveiled the paper during the 5G Global Summit, a two-day conference held on the sidelines of the 19th International Telecommunications Union Plenipotentiary Conference underway in Busan.

The paper outlines core technologies, services and requirements of the next-generation network, anticipating that the era of 5G will arrive in 2020.

“SK Telecom is pleased to publish a white paper on 5G for the first time in the nation to suggest the directions for discussions and research in the future,” said Park Jin-hyo, senior vice president and head of the network technology R&D center at SK Telecom. “The company will continue R&D activities for the 5G technology to become an industry leader not only in the Korean market but also the world market.”

SK Telecom has teamed up with global tech giants including Nokia and Ericsson for research on 5G mobile communications technology to develop higher-speed Internet broadband.

It also signed a partnership with Samsung Electronics during the ITU conference to boost the ongoing efforts. (Yonhap)