[THE INVESTOR] The nation’s top telecom firms SK Telecom and KT are gearing up to compete in the field of next-generation network 5G.

Korea’s leading mobile operator SK Telecom said on June 23 it has successfully developed 5G test equipment with Ericsson that will be applied to the world’s first 5G test network that is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.

“The upcoming demonstration will be a chance to show stable and sufficient support for up-and-coming 5G services,” said Park Jin-hyo, head of SK Telecom’s network technology center.


Meanwhile, SK Telecom’s top rival KT on June 23 revealed its “PyeongChang 5G Standard” at a seminar hosted by the Korean Institute of Communications and Information Services.

The standard will support the trial 5G network services that is set to be released at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

“We will continue to make sure the Winter Olympics become a 5G Olympics in the true sense of the term,” said Oh Sung-mok, vice president of KT’s network department.

KT also announced a set of diverse 5G-related services it would be unveiling during the winter games.

KT said its “PyeongChang 5G Standard” is 18 months ahead of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project standardization, and that it encompasses most of the 5G factors under review by the 3GPP. Therefore, the firm said its standard has a good chance of being applied to future international 5G international standards.

By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)