SK Telecom has reportedly established a 200 member task force aimed at beating rivals KT and LG Uplus to market with the launch of 5G services.
The operator is aiming to launch commercial 5G services as quickly as possible and has appointed the head of its mobile network division Suh Sung-won to lead up the 5G task force, the Korea Timesreported.
The task force also consists of staff from across SK Telecom's mobile, media, IoT and service platform divisions as well as its ICT infrastructure institute.
Second-ranked mobile operator KT has already revealed an intention of launching 5G by 2019, so SK Telecom is in a race against time to be first.
According to the report, SK Telecom has already sent requests for proposals to equipment vendors so it can introduce 5G new radio equipment into its network as soon as possible.
The operator also plans to enhance technical cooperation with partner companies on the development of 5G equipment, and is seeking to help South Korea secure leadership in the global 5G market.
Another focus of the task force will be developing next-generation network services and business models for the 5G era, incorporating technologies such as autonomous vehicles, AI and the IoT.