SK Telecom has contracted Samsung to help deploy a world-first nationwide LoRaWAN network dedicated to the IoT.
The low power wide area network will be deployed using the 900-MHz band. SK Telecom plans to launch commercial services over the network in South Korea's fourth largest city Daegu next month, and expand the launch nationwide by the middle of the year.
The Daegu deployment will serve as a live test bed for the IoT network and the planned wider rollout.
SK Telecom plans to focus on setting up infrastructure for renewable energy implementations, cloud platforms and big data for healthcare and medical services, as well as electric vehicle infrastructure for autonomous cars.
LoRaWAN IoT networks use unlicensed spectrum known as the industrial scientific and medical frequency band. To prevent interference, the network will support listen before talk technology.
SK Telecom plans to adopt a new service model it calls the Internet of Small Things for the network services, concentrating on applications for devices that transmit small volumes of data at very slow speeds of below 5kbps.
“With the early deployment of a nationwide IoT network, SK Telecom will be able to maintain its position as pioneer in the field of telecommunications,” SK Telecom head of infrastructure Lee Jong-bong said.
“SK Telecom will continue to work closely with partners including Samsung to deliver new value and convenience to both individual and enterprise customers over the IoT network.”