South Korea's LG U+ has teamed up with Huawei to establish a Mobile Innovation Center in Seoul, that will conduct research into LTE-Advanced and 5G technologies.
The new facility will aim to accelerate LTE-A carrier aggregation development, innovate in small cell and network quality technologies and develop new 5G equipment.
“Establishing the new MIC will provide both LG Uplus and Huawei with an increased competitive advantage in the ICT market,” LG U+ executive vice president of service and development Kim Sun Tae commented.
He said he expects the partnership to contribute to the development of South Korea's ICT industry and ensure that the market is at the forefront of LTE and 5G development.
This aligns with the South Korean government's own objectives. In January, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning committed to invest $1.5 billion through to 2020 towards the development of 5G technologies.
The ministry has projected that taking the lead on 4G development would allow the nation to earn around 331 trillion won ($319 billion) between 2020 and 2026 on the sale of 5G devices alone.