SK Telecom has launched an application that provides recommendations for restaurants by using big data analysis, the company said Sunday.

The newly launched app uses big data compiled by the telecommunications firm’s mobile navigation service Tmap. According to the company, the number of users of the navigation services has reached 18 million, and it has some 1.8 billion points of data indicating restaurant visits over the past five years.

SK Telecom noted that the new application utilizes only data coming from actual visits that users have made instead of online reviews -- which may not be written by actual customers.

The mobile carrier said its application could provide customized recommendations based on the user’s location, age, gender and the number of diners. The new application will also allow searches based on keywords, it said.

“SK Telecom will ramp up efforts to provide services using big data analytics, as well as the fifth-generation network,” the company said.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)