SK Telecom is demonstrating what it calls the world’s first functioning 5G network at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week.
The 5G platform can provide a 20 Gbps transmission speed over the air - which meets the performance requirement set by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for the next generation of mobile networks, SK Telecom said in a statement.
SK Telecom said its 5G system is built in collaboration with Nokia and Ericsson, with the former providing core technologies while latter contributes network slicing technology. The demo also includes 5G device prototypes co-developed with Intel.
In addition, SK Telecom will showcase diverse use cases for the 5G network, including a demo of a 3D hologram image to realize realistic communications, which the cellco says will become widespread in the 5G era.
The company will also unveil the first 5G device prototype that will support communication between vehicles, the core enabler of autonomous vehicles. Moreover, it will demonstrate virtual reality games - which involve the transmission of massive amounts of data – over its 5G network.
As well as 5G, the South Korean mobile giant is also showing off its capabilities in IoT by exhibiting an end-to-end IoT ecosystem encompassing IoT platform, network and solution.
Its IoT platform, touted as ThingPlug, was launched in June. It offers a one-stop development environment as well as diverse application-enabling features for developers, SK Telecom said.
SK Telecom said it has developed diverse IoT networks such as Narrow-Band IoT (NB-IoT), which utilizes the existing LTE network, and Low Power Wide Area (LPWA), an exclusive network for IoT.
The company will demonstrate a bicycle monitoring service that operates over the LPWA network at the Mobile World Congress.
As opposed to the existing bicycle monitoring services that use IoT devices attached with 3G modules, thus resulting in high line cost and battery power issues, SK Telecom's LPWA-based service effectively prevents bicycle theft by enabling low-power tracking of bicycle locations.
At present, public institutions in Korea that operate a large number of bicycles are showing great interest in this service.
Moreover, SK Telecom will introduce its IoT services/solutions such as Smart Home and connected car service T2C (tablet to car), co-developed with Renault Samsung Motors. The company, which has already launched 25 different Smart Home-compatible home appliances in Korea, will introduce devices optimized for Europe and North America - including wallpad, robot vacuum cleaner, humidifier and air purifier - to promote exports of these products.