SK Telecom on 'Applying AI to Transform Customer Experience'

FutureNet Asia 2024 took place from September 17-18 at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, marking the event's fourth edition. Earlier this year, FutureNet World celebrated its sixth year in London. The event brought together over 400 industry leaders and visionaries to explore the intersections of network automation and AI.

Eric Davis, Vice President of the AI Tech Collaboration Group at SK Telecom, oversees collaborations with global tech partners to customize large language models (LLMs) for the telecommunications domain. His teams are responsible for designing and building datasets to fine-tune LLMs, as well as benchmarking LLMs both generally and specifically for the telecommunications sector. He gave an insightful talk on how SK Telecom is 'Applying AI to Transform Customer Experience'.

His talk is embedded below:

Following this event, SK Telecom announced AI Pyramid Strategy to become a global AI company. In a press release, they announced:

SKT sets forth ‘AI Pyramid Strategy’ to accelerate innovation centered around three key areas: AI Infrastructure, AI Transformation (AIX) and AI Service.

• AI Infrastructure, which consists of data center, AI semiconductor, and multi LLM, will serve as a technology platform that forms the basis of SKT as an AI company.
• AI Transformation (AIX) of SKT’s core business areas such as mobile, broadband and enterprise, as well as new business areas like mobility and healthcare will be pursued to reach a new level of productivity and customer experience.
• In the area of AI Service, SKT announces the official launch of ‘A.’ and plans to build a globally competitive personal AI assistant service by leveraging its telco and AI assets.

It further mentioned:

SKT today announced that it has branded its AI technology as ‘A.X’ and named its large language model ‘A.X LLM’.

The company is pursuing a multi-LLM strategy, under which it takes a two-track approach to secure diverse LLM lineup as well as an overall platform that encompasses the LLMs. It is advancing its own LLM based on high-quality data accumulated over decades. Simultaneously, SKT is collaborating with a diverse range of partners, including Anthropic, OpenAI, and Konan Technology, to develop tailored LLM and related technologies specifically for the telco industry.

First, in terms of strengthening its own capabilities, SKT plans to advance its LLMs into telco-specific LLMs by leveraging its abundant telecommunications-related data.

In addition, the company will continue to secure more sophisticated LLM technologies based on its supercomputer Titan, which ranked no. 47 on the Top 500 list of the world's most powerful supercomputers; high understanding of the Korean language trained with the world’s largest Korean language data; intelligence platform where multi LLMs and AI technologies customized for diverse telco use cases can be utilized; and multimodal LLM technologies that support communication via not only text but also voice, video, and so on.

SKT invested USD 100 million in Anthropic last month, and is working together with Anthropic to develop LLM customized to telcos. The company is also cooperating with Open AI, which includes co-hosting of an AI hackathon in Korea. SKT also invested KRW 22.4 billion in Konan Technology last year, and the two companies are collaborating to enter into the enterprise market with LLMs customized to corporate customers.

■ AI Transformation (AIX)

In the area of AIX, which is located in the middle layer of the AI Pyramid, SKT will innovate its existing core business areas like mobile, broadband and enterprise with AI, while at the same time expanding into new business areas such as mobility, AI healthcare, media and advertising technology. 

In the mobile business, the company stated that AI holds the power to significantly improve both profitability and customer experience. AI can not only be used to acquire/retain customers and provide better customer support via AI Contact Centers (AICC), but also be applied to the network infrastructure to enhance the efficiency in network deployment and operation. The company expects that, in the mid-to long-term, AI will help reduce 20 to 30% of costs compared to the current level.

SKT will also evolve SK Broadband’s Btv service into AI TV to deliver a new level of convenience and value. For instance, ‘AI Curation’ will identify the user and show personalized TV; and ‘AI Home’ will allow users to enjoy various media services by conversing with an AI agent.

In addition, by combining multi LLM with existing AI solutions like Vision AI, Language AI and Big Data AI, the company to expand its AICC business to financial institutions and data platform business to manufacturers. For its generative AI business, it will build customized services for public and financial institutions with strong needs for security and specialized services, while providing SaaS bundles to general corporate customers.

Furthermore, SKT will continue to pursue AI innovation and expand the overall AI ecosystem by growing its new business areas such as urban air mobility (UAM) and AI-based healthcare services like X Caliber. The company will also promote mergers and acquisitions in areas including media and advertising technology to create new business opportunities through AI transformation.

■ AI Service

SKT today announced the official launch of ‘A.’, the world’s first Korean LLM service released in the beta version in 2022. 

The company said that ‘A.’ will evolve into a personal AI assistant service by innovating customers’ communication experience and fully assisting their everyday lives via seamless connection to a wide variety of AI services. 

SKT plans to add an AI phone service, which enables new connections through communication innovation that can only be achieved by a telco. The AI phone will provide a variety of AI services and mobile experiences based on understanding and reasoning of call context.

For instance, it will recommend people to call based on call history and analyze the content exchanged during a call with AI to provide a call summary. At the same time, it connects users to necessary tasks, such as registering the schedule made during a call to the calendar or sharing addresses. More features such as real-time interpretation during calls will also be added going forward.

In terms of integrating AI into all aspects of daily life, SKT will start by offering an AI sleep management solution named ‘A. sleep’ and an AI music service this month.

‘A. sleep’ is developed by combining sleep management solution startup Asleep’s sleep solution and SKT’s AI. It evaluates sleep quality by analyzing user’s sleep patterns. No separate device is needed. It helps users start their day in the best possible condition by determining the ideal wake-up time depending on their sleep status and quality.

The AI music service will not only allow users to edit their playlist by simply talking to A., but also automatically recommend music that matches their tastes based on its generative customer prediction model.

Going forward, SKT plans to leverage its AI service-related experience and knowhow accumulated in the Korean market to develop a powerful personal AI assistant service that can attract global customers.

The company expects that its partnerships with diverse global players – including the Global Telco AI Alliance – will help accelerate its progress. SKT plans to expand its presence in the global AI service market by launching personal AI assistant services simultaneously in many countries across the world by working closely with telcos for localization and advancement of these services.

You can read the complete press release here.

Eric shared some interesting lessons that they have learned as part of rolling out their LLM powered use cases as can be seen from his slide above.

Related Posts: 

• Free 6G Training: A Discussion on SK Telecom's First 6G Whitepaper from Wireless Future Podcast
• Free 6G Training: SK Telecom Releases 6G White Paper Looking at Lessons Learned in 5G and Way Forward with 6G
• Free 6G Training - SK Telecom 6G White Paper: View on Future AI Telco Infrastructure
• Operator Watch Blog: Is South Korea Losing its 5G Crown?
• Operator Watch Blog: 5G Network Sharing using MOCN for Rural South Korea
• Operator Watch Blog: Wi-Fi and 5G Status in South Korea 

Is South Korea Losing its 5G Crown?

South Korea is second only to Hong Kong in the world rankings of telecom market maturity. It enjoys a highly competitive but stable market, with strong central government support that helps drive the rollout of advanced infrastructure in both the fixed and mobile arenas. South Korea is also on the leading edge of the latest telecom technology developments, including around 6G. And it is host to two of the world’s top equipment manufacturers in the form of Samsung and LG.

With its highly urbanised, tech-savvy population, South Korea also enjoys very high penetration levels across all segments – fixed-line telephony (44% at the start of 2022), fixed broadband (46%), mobile voice and data (144%), and mobile broadband (120%). The performance of the mobile sector is on a par with other developed markets around the region, but it’s the wireline segment that allows South Korea to stand out from the crowd. This is partly a reflection of the large proportion of its population who live in apartment buildings (around 60%), making fibre and apartment LAN connections relatively easy and cost-effective to deploy. The government’s Ultra Broadband convergence Network (UBcN) had aimed to reach 50% adoption by the end of 2022, but that target may be a few more years away. Still, the country already has one of the world’s highest fixed broadband rates.

Fixed-line teledensity is also at a very high level compared to most of the rest of the world, but it has been on a sharp decline from a penetration rate of 60% ten years ago. That fall has forced the incumbent telco KT Corp to diversify into other telecom segments (including investments in 5G and the development of 6G) as well as non-telecom sectors (such as autonomous vehicles) in an effort to transform itself into a digital platform company. However, a major network outage in October 2021 drew the ire of the government and the police (in addition to the consumers and businesses directly affected by the shutdown), suggesting that the company may need to refocus its attention back on its core business.

On the mobile front, users have enthusiastically migrated from one generation of mobile platform to the next as each iteration becomes available. There also doesn’t appear to be any great concern about there being a lack of demand for 5G in South Korea (when the country is already well supported by 4G networks), with 30% of all subscribers having already made the switch. Part of the reason behind the rapid transition may be the subsidised handsets on offer from each of the MNOs and the MVNOs – a practice that has become so widespread and cutthroat that the regulators has regularly stepped in and fined the operators billions of won for breaching the subsidy level and risking a price war that will ultimately damage the entire industry.

There were over 22 million 5G subscribers in South Korea at the end of March 2022 which represented a penetration rate of 45%, served by 215,000 5G base stations. South Korea is one of the most advanced 5G markets in the world, and the scores of South Korea's operators in this report highlight the extent of 5G success.

The total number of 5G subscribers in South Korea reached nearly 24 million in May 2022, according to the latest available data from the Ministry of Science and ICT.

South Korea was the first country to launch commercial 5G networks in April 2019 and currently has 5G coverage across its 85 cities. Korean mobile operators have deployed a total of 202,903 5G base stations as of the end of February, according to previous reports. This figure is equivalent to 23% of total 4G LTE base stations installed in South Korea.

2 of 2: "The only real 5G that is available to the Korean public is basically glorified WiFi in the subways" - https://t.co/dFa8lS84ob

— Robert Horvitz (@open_spectrum) October 23, 2022

Not everyone is impressed by 5G in South Korea though as you can see in the Tweets above.

KT (Korea Telecom) is the public provider and 2nd network in the country with a good coverage. It's a formerly public enterprise, is relatively cheaper than SK Telecom with the largest WiFi coverage in Korea and a well-organized prepaid plan available. Remember, there is no 2G anymore, just 3G, 4G/LTE and now 5G NR.

KT has also unveiled plans to build a specialized 5G testbed running on the 4.7 GHz band with the aim of enabling multiple customers to access its core network equipment from the public cloud and test private or “specialized” networks.

“When KT’s 5G specialized network testbed is established, it will be possible to perform a one-stop service for testing equipment for 5G specialized network, interworking with terminals, and conducting network trial operation and inspection. It is expected to greatly reduce the cost and technical burden of companies considering the introduction of a 5G specialized network.”

The Korean operator added the testbed is expected to reduce the cost and technical requirements for companies considering introducing private networks.

KT is deploying private 5G networks at Seoul National University and Samsung Seoul Hospital.

SK Telecom is the biggest mobile provider in South Korea. SK operates 3G on the usual 2100 MHz, but 4G/LTE on the rather unusual 850 MHz (band 5) as primary frequency that is rarely covered by devices from overseas (except those capable of AT&T's LTE in the US). The more usual 1800 MHz (band 3) is only employed for back-up. But the coverage is reported to be better than that of KT, by press every year. 2G has been switched off in 2020.

In November of 2021, Swedish vendor Ericsson announced a partnership with SK Telecom, with the aim of supporting 5G Standalone networks through the deployment of a cloud-native dual-mode 5G Core.

Ericsson and SK Telecom had initially unveiled next-generation cloud-native 5G Core networks technology, architecture, implementation and operations plans in March 2019. The vendor said that this latest cooperation builds on the existing partnership. According to Ericsson, the dual-mode 5G core is deployed on its bare metal solution, known as Ericsson Cloud Native Infrastructure.

Ericsson had previously provided SK Telecom with 5G radio access network (RAN) equipment and network management system for their commercial 5G network rollout.

LG Uplus is working to further expand its 5G coverage across the country. In July this year, the operator secured an additional 20 megahertz of spectrum to use for 5G.

The Ministry of Science and ICT confirmed the allocation of the 3.4-3.42 GHz frequency band to LG Uplus, in addition to the 3.42 to 3.5 GHz spectrum that the telecom company bought in 2018.

LG Uplus had previously asked the Korean government for an additional 20 megahertz of spectrum to boost its 5G offerings. In a government spectrum auction in June 2018, rival operators SK Telecom and KT had secured 100 megahertz of spectrum, while LG Uplus had only acquired 80 megahertz.

During a keynote speech at Huawei’s 2022 Mobile Broadband Forum, held this week in Bangkok, Thailand, Yoon Ho Choi, president of XR business department at LG Uplus noted that the company’s 5G coverage had reached 85% of the population in large cities and central rural areas across Korea. The executive also highlighted that the level of 5G availability at a national level was 90.9% and 95.2% in capital Seoul. He also noted that the average download speed of the telco’s 5G service was 640.7 Mbps.

Norway still (narrowly) No 1 in median mobile download speed in September according to @Speedtest. China improving quickly. China, Netherlands and Denmark for the first time ahead of South Korea. #Top10 pic.twitter.com/xX67u6CTaT

— Tefficient 🚥 (@tefficient) October 19, 2022

While the mobile operators have been very enthusiastic about 5G, people aren't as excited. While the data rates have increased and latencies reduced, there are still many technical issues that regularly plague the users. One of the lessons Japanese operators learned after being the first to launch 3G was to not roll out a technology until it was thoroughly tested. The Korean operators maybe learning this as well.

South Korea is seeing a rapid adoption of 5G private networks, chiefly due to the widespread coverage of 5G technology in the country and the allocation of specific spectrum by the government to enable private network deployments.

In August, South Korean tech firm Samsung announced a tranche of new private 5G deployments in its home country, including with three public sector agencies and two private sector hospitals. The vendor noted that this project is part of the government initiative to advance the country’s private 5G ecosystem, allowing non-telecom operators to build and operate 5G networks using 4.7GHz and 28GHz — which are dedicated frequency bands for private 5G networks in Korea.

Samsung said it was selected in each case – by three state-owned utilities and two privately-owned hospitals – “as part of the government’s” drive to release spectrum for industrial change. Its three public sector contracts – with Korea Electric Power Corporation, Korea Industrial Complex Corporation, and Korea Water Resources Corporation – are geared around “workplace safety and efficiency”, it said.

The vendor also said that this new project follows Samsung’s previous deployment of what it claimed to be Korea’s first private 5G network at Naver’s new headquarters.

Related Posts:

• Operator Watch Blog: 5G Network Sharing using MOCN for Rural South Korea
• Operator Watch Blog: Wi-Fi and 5G Status in South Korea
• Operator Watch Blog: South Korea's Ministry promotes Wi-Fi 6, says WiFi is like 5G
• Operator Watch Blog: LG Uplus Tests 5G in 28GHz band using 800MHz Bandwidth. Sees AR as 5G Killer App
• Operator Watch Blog: 5G+ Strategy of the Republic of Korea
• Free 6G Training: South Korea keen to Commercialize 6G around 2028-2030
• Free 6G Training: 6G Public-Private Collaboration in the Republic of Korea
• Free 6G Training: A Future World of 2035 Created by ETRI
• Operator Watch Blog: How is KT Reducing the Latency of their 5G Network
• The 3G4G Blog: Reducing 5G Device Power Consumption Using Connected-mode Discontinuous Reception (C-DRX)
• Operator Watch Blog: SK Telecom's 5G Strategy and Services 

5G Network Sharing using MOCN for Rural South Korea

South Korea may have been the first country where all the networks switched on their 5G but that does not mean they have been having an easy ride. 

누구나, 전국 어디서든 5G로 연결됩니다. 통신사 간 망 공동이용으로 ’24년 상반기까지 농어촌 #5G 완성! 😆 자세한 내용은 ▶ https://t.co/TC0dNrrq5h #한국판뉴딜 #디지털뉴딜 pic.twitter.com/9fGBPdmij5

— 과학기술정보통신부 (@withmsit) April 16, 2021

Back in April, the ICT ministry announced that the three major mobile carriers will share their 5G networks in remote coastal and farm towns in a move to accelerate the rollout of the latest generation networks. The Korea Herald reported: 

The carriers -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. -- signed an agreement so that 5G users can have access to the high-speed network regardless of the carrier they are subscribed to in 131 remote locations across the country, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT.

Under the plan, a 5G user would be able to use other carrier networks in such regions that are not serviced by his or her carrier.

The ministry said telecom operators will test the network sharing system before the end of this year and aim for complete commercialization in phases by 2024.

The ministry said the selected remote regions are sparsely populated, with a population density of 92 people per square kilometer, compared with those without network sharing at 3,490 people per square kilometer.

The move comes as the country races to establish nationwide 5G coverage, with network equipment currently installed in major cities.

South Korea's MNOs will power up its joint rural 5G network 25 November. The present 5G coverage (here KT) was realised without sharing. KT used 67,000 sites & 130,000 base stations to reach the 5G coverage shown in the map. Interesting to see how the rural network changes this. pic.twitter.com/niHPTZuLoR

— tefficient 🚥 (@tefficient) November 9, 2021

In another article back in September, The Korea Herald reported:

The number of 5G network base stations in South Korea accounted for just 11 percent of the total in the second quarter, data showed Monday, amid continued user complaints against the latest generation networks.

As of the April-June period, there were 162,099 5G base stations in the country, compared with a total of 1.47 million mobile network base stations, according to data from the Korea Communications Agency.

The number of 5G base stations was far outnumbered by around 1 million 4G base stations and over 300,000 3G base stations.

In comparison, the number of 5G users accounted for 23.8 percent of the total in July at just over 17 million, while there were 50.5 million 4G users and 20.2 million 3G users.

The latest data comes as local mobile carriers have faced complaints from 5G users over spotty connection and slower-than-expected speeds since the networks' launch in April 2019.

At a recent GSMA conference, Daehun Lim, Head of Global Strategic Partnerships, LG Uplus shared the 5G Rural Network Sharing plans in more details. The picture on the top shows the timelines and the areas that are planned to be covered by each operator.

The network sharing will be based on MOCN which we have explained in our tutorial here.

Since the 5G spectrum allocation for all the operators is very similar, we don't expect any issues with the network sharing plan going forward. We will have to wait a couple of years before is becomes commercially available though.

Related Posts:

• The 3G4G Blog: Quick tutorial on Mobile Network Sharing Options
• Operator Watch Blog: All three mobile network operators in South Korea launched 5G on Dec 1, 2018
• Operator Watch Blog: Current IMT Spectrum Allocation in South Korea
• Operator Watch Blog: LG Uplus Tests 5G in 28GHz band using 800MHz Bandwidth. Sees AR as 5G Killer App 

Wi-Fi and 5G Status in South Korea

Last year we reported on this blog that South Korean Ministry of Science and Technology Information and Communication is heavily promoting Wi-Fi 6, in 6GHz (a.k.a. Wi-Fi 6E). 

Back in February, South Korea's ICT ministry said that it has made over 15,000 new public Wi-Fi service zones available across the country and in buses last year, bringing the total locations with free public Wi-Fi to over 57,000. Yonhap News Agency revealed:

The Ministry of Science and ICT said the public can access free Wi-Fi in 28,132 public locations, such as bus stations, public facilities and parks, and also in 29,100 buses.

By region, there are 2,529 public Wi-Fi locations in Seoul, with 4,358 locations in the surrounding Gyeonggi Province, according to the ICT ministry.

South Korea has recently boosted efforts to expand public Wi-Fi zones that had previously been limited to indoor facilities, such as community centers and traditional markets.

The ICT ministry said it has focused on outdoor locations, installing free Wi-Fi at 7,949 bus stations, 1,286 parks and 320 major streets across the country from 2019 to 2020.

The ministry has also replaced 18,000 aging routers with the latest Wi-Fi 6 equipment, resulting in speeds that are three times faster on average.

The ministry said it plans to establish 15,000 additional public Wi-Fi zones this year.

You can see a video of one such Free WiFi on Bus event here.

Hackaday reported that the government has released the details of the 220,000 WiFi access points to the public. This includes the location, IP address, and RSSI data for use by people and companies wanting to develop location-based services.

Aju Business Daily said Geographical locations, internet protocol addresses and received signal strength indicators (RSSIs) have been collected for emergency response purposes and to pinpoint the location of an AP or to calculate the floating population. RSSI is an estimate of the strength of WiFi signal between an AP and recipient device.

February 2019 was the last time monthly 4G traffic was so low (380 PB) in South Korea as it was in January 2021. 4G visibly in decline the past months while 5G traffic grew to 45% of total. pic.twitter.com/Hl31RPI6fL

— tefficient 🚥 (@tefficient) March 1, 2021

In the mobile news,  Tefficient reported that 4G/LTE traffic has been going down as 5G traffic grows.  February 2019 was the last time monthly 4G traffic was so low (380 PB) in South Korea as it was in January 2021. 4G visibly in decline the past months while 5G traffic grew to 45% of total.

South Korea's operators net added over 1 million 5G subscribers in January 2021 - the first month over 1 million since the 5G launch. 18% of total mobile subscriber base now 5G. @SKtelecom @kt_corp @LGUplus pic.twitter.com/ExvKUt8Gw9

— tefficient 🚥 (@tefficient) March 1, 2021

Also as you can see in the other tweet, South Korea's operators net added over 1 million 5G subscribers in January 2021 - the first month over 1 million since the 5G launch. 18% of total mobile subscriber base now 5G.

But not everyone is happy with 5G. The Korea Bizwire reported:

Hundreds of 5G smartphone users in South Korea are banding together to take legal action against the country’s three major telecom operators — SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. — for spotty connection and the poor quality of the latest generation network, industry sources said Thursday.

As of Thursday, around 1,000 5G smartphone users have expressed intent to take part in the collective lawsuit to seek at least 1 million won (US$890) in compensation per user from the three mobile carriers over their 5G network quality that fall short of expectations, despite their costlier pay plans, according to Kim Jin-wook, a lawyer at law firm Joowon, which is spearheading the legal action.

Kim argues that 5G network quality is not a discernible improvement from previous 4G LTE networks and has drawbacks, such as limited availability.

The three telecom operators had deployed 166,250 5G base stations as of November last year, which is just 19 percent of the number of 4G base stations, according to industry tracker Opensignal.

South Korea’s 5G coverage centers around major urban areas, such as Seoul, with carriers aiming for nationwide coverage by next year.

Carriers also initially advertised 5G download speeds as being 20 times faster than 4G LTE, but a government report last year found that average 5G download speeds were around four times faster than those of 4G.

“Considering that monthly 5G plans are around 50,000 won more expensive than 4G LTE plans, we expect around 1 million won in compensation for users subscribed to two-year plans,” said Kim.

He added that the lawsuit will be filed in May after gathering more participants.

This may be the catalyst the Korean operators need to massively improve the 5G user experience for the end users.

Related Posts:

• Operator Watch Blog: South Korea's Ministry promotes Wi-Fi 6, says WiFi is like 5G
• The 3G4G Blog: Wi-Fi 6 (a.k.a. 802.11ax) and other Wi-Fi enhancements
• Connectivity Technology Blog: IEEE 802.11be Extremely High Throughput (EHT), a.k.a. Wi-Fi 7 
• Operator Watch Blog: 5G+ Strategy of the Republic of Korea
• Operator Watch Blog: How many 5G Cell Towers & Base Stations Worldwide? 

South Korea's Ministry promotes Wi-Fi 6, says WiFi is like 5G

While many of us are talking about Wi-Fi 7, Wi-Fi 6 has yet to gain popularity. The latest Google Pixel phones for example don't support Wi-Fi 6 but all the latest iPhones do.  

This is not stopping the Ministry of Science and Technology Information and Communication in South Korea from promoting Wi-Fi 6, in 6GHz (a.k.a. Wi-Fi 6E)

Cute video from South Korea's ministry of how Wi-Fi 6 will take Wi-Fi to a new (5G like) level https://t.co/UYweUHBTb7

— tefficient 🚥 (@tefficient) October 16, 2020

As you can see from the press release, 1200 MHz of spectrum is available for this new Wi-Fi. This video shows that they are serious in promoting Wi-Fi everywhere. In fact they compare it with 5G and even show Wi-Fi 6E as a winner. 

Back in June, Wi-Fi NOW had already predicted that South Korea could become Asia’s first 6 GHz Wi-Fi nation. You can read about it here.

In a press release this week, Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), the worldwide industry body dedicated to improving Wi-Fi services and standards, announced the conclusion of five trial deployments of Wi-Fi 6 across diverse markets. WBA members including network providers, infrastructure vendors and device vendors set up the trial environments and executed the test cases in end-to-end real-life networks. One of these trials was by SK Telecom in retail, the COEX Shopping mall, which is the biggest complex shopping mall in Korea with about 250,000 visitors per day in average.

The detail from the case study is available in the report here.

SK Telecom deployed Wi-Fi 6 to improve connectivity for consumers, increase quality of experience (QoE) for densely populated areas and provide high throughput for immersive media services. Wi-Fi 6 reduced latency by 80 percent, reduced throughput fluctuation, and improved service reliability to customers anywhere, anytime, throughout the mall.

I am hoping to start seeing many more of these kinds of deployments in the next year.

Related Posts:

• The 3G4G Blog: Wi-Fi 6 (a.k.a. 802.11ax) and other Wi-Fi enhancements
• Connectivity Technology Blog: IEEE 802.11be Extremely High Throughput (EHT), a.k.a. Wi-Fi 7 

5G+ Strategy of the Republic of Korea

Back in April this year, the South Korean Ministry of Science and ICT provided details not just about 5G commercialization but also about the future 5G+ strategy. This post combines that announcement with a recent presentation by the Ministry at UN ESCAP:

The Korean government celebrated world’s first 5G commercialization in Olympic Park on April 8 2019 and shared the national vision for realizing an innovative growth in the 5G era. On that day, the Korean government announced the ‘5G+ Strategy’ as a way to create new industries and services based on 5G and pledged to establish the world’s best 5G ecosystem moving on from being world’s first. In particular, the Korean government proposed the goal to reach 180 trillion won in productivity, 73 billion dollars in export and create 600,000 quality jobs by 2026, through promoting 5G+strategic industries (major 10 industries and 5 services).

As an effort to nurture 5G-based new industries and markets and improve the quality of people’s lives, 52 specific tasks under the following major five strategic areas will be implemented.

1. secure early market and improve people’s quality of life through taking initiative in investing in public sector
2. create testbed for expanding investment in private sector and develop industries
3. support 5G service facilitation and user protection through system maintenance
4. nurture globally recognized innovative enterprises and talents through establishment of industrial foundation
5. globalize Korea’s 5G technologies and services through providing support to overseas expansion

Demonstration and spread of 5G+ core services
provide support in identifying and demonstrating profit models in 5 core areas in the private sector (2018~2021) ⇨ carry out 5G+ innovation project for deployment and spread of services (2021~2025)

1. immersive content: real time hologram performance for remote areas
2. smart factory: solution development for each industry and spread of industrial complex
3. autonomous vehicle: develop and distribute 5G self-driving shuttle buses
4. smart city: emergency rescue service in fire sites
5. digital healthcare: emergency medical service between ambulances and hospitals

Support demand creation in public sector

• (SOC) support safe and efficient management of infrastructure and deteriorated facility
• (infrastructure) carry out ‘5G+ smart SOC project’(2020~) for establishing real time monitoring system (utilization of 5G robots and CCTVs etc.) on road, port and airport etc.
• (life support facility) support real time 5G-based safety monitoring in educational and cultural facility (2020~)
• (deteriorated nuclear power plant) develop and adopt safe, 5G-based nuclear power plant decommissioning technologies such as real time monitoring of high risk work sites and identifying biometrics of workers (2020~2023)
• (utilize cutting-edge device) create 5G device market based on public demand
• (robot) carry out 5G public service robot (guide robot on public facility etc.) pilot project (2020~)
• (drone) support R&D and demonstration of 5G drone service such as public safety, environment and measurement (2020~) and develop 5G drones for mail delivery (2019~2021) and connect this to public procurement
• (CCTV) implement 5G intelligent CCTV R&D and demonstration as well as disaster safety pilot service (2021~)

improve people’s quality of life through 5G public service deployment

• (5G+ life sustaining project) distribute 5G solutions* based on public demand for improving people’s livelihood in areas such as education, agriculture and environment and resolving regional social issues (2021~)
• * e.g. (immersive education) provide 5G-based, VR and AR remote education and training for local and vocational schools, (smart agriculture) deploy 5G unmanned tractors and drones, (environmental monitoring) 5G-based, real time fine dust monitoring etc.  
• (improve medical service) implement ‘5G-based collaborative telemedicine pilot project’ for hospitals and clinics (2020~) → increase the portion of the medical facility with scale similar to or larger than that of general hospital to 50% by 2023

create 5G-based smart city

• (national pilot city) establish data and AI center in pilot city for building data-based intelligent urban operating system in connection with 5G (2020~2022)
• (existing city) support expansion of 5G-based smart city technologies by active deployment of 5G to projects in turning existing cities into smart cities such as smart city challenge (2019~)

Expand private investment by:

1. tax credit and investment

• provide tax credits to network investment (2~3% for 2019-2020) for inducing early deployment of nationwide 5G network and invest in innovation companies by engaging in financial programs driving new growth*
• * program supporting advancement in industrial structure (10 trillion won for 2019-2021), KP Inno fund (1.2 trillion won for 2019∼2022), smart factory fund (300 billion won for 2019∼2021) etc.

2. establish 5G testbeds and demonstration infrastructure

• (establish testbeds) establish 13 5G testbeds and demonstration infrastructure in five areas including various 5G terminals and equipments, 5G Vehicular-to-Everything*(V2X) communications, 5G drones** and edge computing
• * provide support in verification of 5G autonomous driving performance on real roads in K-City(Hwaseong), Pangyo zero city and Sangam of Seoul (2019∼)
• ** establish 5G test infrastructure in 5 drone flying test sites which are in the process of construction (Yeongwol, Gosang, Boeun etc.) (2020∼2021)
• provide internationally accredited certificate service for supporting 5G terminal and V2X exports (2019~)
• (5G challenge) hold contests for demonstration and expansion of 5G autonomous vehicles and drones
• (establish clusters) establish ‘Songpa mobile cluster’ which has expanded the existing function of supporting radiowave and security industry to providing support to 5G equipment development and demonstration (2020~2025)

3. promote 5G technology commercialization of SMEs

• (network equipment) increase support for R&D of technology commercialization in 5G equipment (small cell, repeater, modem etc.) of small and medium-sized enterprises (to take up 25%(2017) → 35%(2020) out of mobile communication R&D)
• (purchase conditional R&D) expand R&D support for commercialization of SMEs based on demand for purchasing 5G-based new technologies and products of public institutions and foreign countries

4. support facilitation of 5G content market

• carry out ‘5G content flagship project*’ and secure infrastructure for development hub (2019~) for creating major 10 globally recognized 5G content by 2022
• * e.g. (immersive media) 360° VR sports streaming, (immersive communication) hologram video conference, (immersive life) VR shopping, (industry convergence) control AR factory and farm, (public service) VR safety education

5. support innovation of productivity in leading industries

• (smart factory) support gradual distribution* of 5G factory solutions optimized for innovating manufacturing and processing of small and medium sized enterprises to 1000 factories by 2022 (2020~2022)
• * target for establishment: 200 (2020) → 300 (2021) → 500 (2022)
• (shipbuilding) secure core technologies of ‘smart yard’ (2021~) providing support to demonstration of 5G-based smart telecom environment establishment in shipyard (2020~2023) and technologies which automate and optimize processing
• (maritime port) establish smart maritime port logistics system which is automatic and intelligent based on 5G (pilot project: 4 ports including Busan Port and Gwangyang Port) (2019~)
• (energy) set up an optimal energy generation system through real time 5G and big data processing in order to respond to expansion of renewable energy (solar energy etc.) generation complex (2020~2023)
• (manufacturing AR) provide pilot AR service (AR manual, AR remote support etc.) in the field of manufacturing to small and medium sized enterprises in relation to 5G smart factory distribution (2020~)

Support 5G service facilitation and user protection through system maintenance

1. telecom service plan and system maintenance

• (launch 5G service plan) induce the launch of service plan* which does not rapidly increase household burden on telecom fee, so that citizens can use various 5G services (April 2019~)
• * continue to reduce rate for data per unit compared to LTE from the first 5G service plan
• (support B2B facilitation) improve service plan to be flexible enough to reflect various 5G services such as autonomous vehicles and smart factories (2019~)

2. secure radiowave resources and improve regulations

• (allocate frequency) double frequency for 5G service by 2026 (2,680MHz bandwidth as of now → 5,190MHz bandwidth) and allocate frequency for 5G convergence service (autonomous vehicle and smart factory etc.) (2019~)
• (improve regulations) support ease of administrative burden through measures including introduction of ‘frequency license system’ (revise radiowave act, 2019~) which integrates and simplifies the process of frequency allocation and radio station establishment

3. create the safest user environment

• (cyber safety) establish preventive system for cyber security breaches such as designating 5G core facilities to be critical IT infrastructure and coming up with ICT convergence security system* (revise the act on information communications network, 2019~) 
• * legal grounds in relation to IoT device and service security, recommendations for convergence service security standard etc.
• (reinforce stability of communication networks) establish communication disaster prevention and response system such as expanding subjects to government inspection to all of major communication facilities (80→870) and securing detour route for signal transmission between facilities etc.

4. regulatory innovation for 5G convergence service

• identify items for regulatory improvement in connection to regulatory sandbox and pilot project and ease regulations for location based information project (grant system → registration system, revise location information act)

5. bridge digital divide and protect users

• (bridge digital divide) reinforce accessibility to new terminals and services for the vulnerable class (the disabled and elderly) and expand education for utilizing intelligent information service focused on real life experiences (VR, AR etc.)
• (principles of protecting users) set principles to prevent new kinds of damages done to users and strengthen their rights amid expansion of 5G convergence service and intelligent information technologies (2019~)

Further details:

• Korea to Announce 5G+ Strategy Pledging to Provide World’s Best 5G Service Based on World’s First 5G Commercialization (April 8)
• UN ESCAP presentation by Ministry of Science and ICT

Related Posts:

• Current IMT Spectrum Allocation in South Korea
• All three mobile network operators in South Korea launched 5G on Dec 1, 2018

SK Telecom's 5G Strategy and Services

No doubt SK Telecom is one the operators leading the way on 5G. Here we look at some of their exciting upcoming initiatives that will change the everyday lives of their customers.

Firstly regarding autonomous driving: SK Telecom and Seoul Metropolitan Government have entered into an agreement to jointly develop and verify HD Map technologies for autonomous driving. They will cooperate on the development of services for HD Map covering a total of 121 kilometers of public roads. These roads have been selected by Seoul’s Cooperative-Intelligent Transport System (C-ITS) project, by installing 5G Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) to 1,600 buses and 100 taxis. This project is designed to develop a transportation system infrastructure, including a 5G network and V2X system, on major roads of Seoul. In January this year, SK Telecom won a contract to deploy 5G infrastructure and services in the area. A total of 1,700 units of 5G ADAS installed in buses and taxis will collect 124 different types of road/traffic information and transmit the data via 5G network to support real-time update of the HD map. 5G ADAS, installed in public transportation vehicles, are designed to support vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication.

SK Telecom and the Seoul Government also intend to create an autonomous driving ecosystem by opening up related infrastructure such as HD maps and data collected by 5G ADAS. The operator has announced a collaboration with three Korean cities — Songdo, Yeongjong, and Cheongna — to use 5G for “HD maps” that will cover 132.9 square kilometers down to the centimeter, including lanes, road slopes, and speed limits. They expect that the maps will be updated in real time with changes including road conditions, all in the service of enabling self-driving vehicles to safely travel the roads.

Regarding the introduction of 5G technology into hospitals; SK Telecom has signed a MOU with Yonsei University Health System to provide digital solutions across 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), and the Internet of Things (IoT) for their hospital intended to open in February 2020.

According to SK Telecom:

"The 5G-powered digital hospital will be equipped with SK Telecom's AI speaker NUGU to enable patients with physical difficulties to easily control their beds, lighting, and TV with their voice. They can even use NUGU Call service to get medical assistance in case of emergencies. Moreover, the 5G-powered digital hospital will offer AR-based indoor navigation service through the application of indoor positioning and 3D-mapping technologies to enhance the convenience of patients and visitors."

Patients in isolation wards will also be able to receive visitors via holographic projections, the carrier said, while facial recognition technology will be used for medical workers to improve security.

"Authorised personnel can automatically gain access to buildings, labs, and other rooms through a facial recognition access control system.Unlike other access control systems that require some kind of contact -- fingerprint, pass, etc -- the face recognition system allows contact-free entry to help reduce the risk of infection."

SK Telecom and the Yonsei University Health System will continue to apply innovative 5G-based hospital solutions to the Yongin Severance Hospital and then to all hospitals under the Yonsei University Health System.

Regarding augmented and virtual reality these are key areas of focus for the operator. Using augmented reality technology, the large fire-breathing dragon was streamed flying around the SK Happy Dream Park during the opening day of the Korea Baseball Organization.

The dragon was streamed both to the LED baseball scoreboard installed at the stadium and via sports broadcasting channels for fans watching the game on TV and smartphones.

To achieve large scale augmented reality streaming, SK Telecom used its self-developed augmented and virtual reality technologies including the eSpace and T real Platform solutions.

The demonstration arose from SK Telecom's focus on the development of 5G-based services to support its commercial network, which launched in December last year.

Another major way SK Telecom want to incorporate this new technology into everyday life is through 5G-powered offices.

One such technology applied to the 5G smart office is a “5G walking-through system,” where people can pass through the entrance via face recognition. Employees had been required to carry identification tags to get through security at the entrance.

Workers are also able to convene remote conferences similar to those seen in sci-fi movies. While not as advanced as creating holograms in the real world, attendees could talk to each other’s avatars in cyberspace.

The telecom company said it established the smart systems at its office in Seoul and has been operating it as a test bed. It plans to develop and specify business models in cooperation with cloud service providers as well as hardware and software partners.

SK Telecom said it installed IoT sensors at places such as ceilings and corridors of the office to collect information on temperature, brightness and humidity. Such information is delivered to servers in real time, and air conditioners and other devices are controlled automatically.

The 5G virtual desktop infrastructure (VID) docking system enables to workers to do their work even if they do not have a laptop or PC by connecting their smartphones to the docking pad. "T real telepresence" is a system combining VR and AR technologies, enabling workers at different locations to have a meeting and watch visual materials together though simultaneous log-ins. The 5G cafeteria offers an unmanned vending machine powered by AI technology as well as a barista robot.

In fact the South Korea’s government recently announced that it expects its robot industry to grow to 15 trillion won ($12.6 billion) by 2023, from 5.7 trillion won in 2018. On March 21 it said supporting the industry is a key national goal. Some of the growth will come from the use of robots in elder care, medicine, and logistics, as well as in entertainment and other service industries.

SK Telecom is making an AI speaker that will project holograms of K-pop stars and other celebrities. The technology is being developed for use in concerts and other performances. 

“AI would become like friends that could be accessible anywhere and anytime,” says Cho Ikhwan, a leader of the augmented-reality and virtual-reality development team at SK Telecom. “It’s a totally new experience to feel AI robots come alive.”

In the Brooklyn 5G Summit Recently, Mr. Jong Kwan Park, SK Telecom, gives a snapshot of the Korean 5G customer and the achievements of the company regarding its 5G journey and deployment specifications. The talk is embedded below:

Further reading on SK Telecom:

• SK Telecom Mobile Network History and 5G
• Current IMT Spectrum Allocation in South Korea
• SK Telecom & Samsung performs 5G EN-DC tests, achieve 2.65 Gbps
• SK Telecom achieves 3.9 Gbps in tests by triple-coupling of 5G, LTE and Wi-Fi

SK Telecom achieves 3.9 Gbps in tests by triple-coupling of 5G, LTE and Wi-Fi

Earlier this month we wrote about how "SK Telecom & Samsung performs 5G EN-DC tests, achieve 2.65 Gbps". We also explained this is mainly because of the large bandwidths available to each of the South Korean operator.

In another news (in Korean only), SK Telecom announced that they have achieved up to 3.9 Gbps by triple connectivity (triple-coupled or triple-aggregation) between 5G, LTE & Wi-Fi

.@SKtelecom has now verified 'triple aggregation' using Samsung's Galaxy S10 5G in its commercial network. If the 5G-only 1.5 Gbps isn't fast enough for you, there's 5G+4G (2.7 Gbps) and now 5G+4G+Wi-Fi with up to 3.9 Gbps. https://t.co/O1PIfDE2q7 pic.twitter.com/Jp3E8FtCQB

— tefficient 🚥 (@tefficient) March 25, 2019

The press release says (using Google translate):

* [5G-LTE-WiFi 3-Step Coupling Technology 'following' 5G-LTE Coupling '] Fastest 4Gbp
* Applied '5G media compression technology' to reduce media data consumption by more than 30%

SK Telecom has completed the key test for mass production of "Galaxy S10 5G" on 25th, followed by 2.7Gbps class 5G + LTE combination technology and "quantum cryptography" network.

For the past two months, SK Telecom has tested thousands of items including '5G Device Test Lab' in Bundang's office building, and interoperability testing between 5G network and smartphone, interface verification, and frequency compatibility at commercial sites. We also made a scenario-specific test by creating more than 100 virtual environments using special equipment in the laboratory.

'5G device test lab' and commercial network performance test is required to be able to launch the smartphone formal. This is why the process is called the final gateway to commercialization. With the completion of the core test, the launch of the world's No. 1 5G smartphone is expected to be smooth.

In the next step, SK Telecom will conduct a delivery inspection this week for mass-produced products produced at factories. The company plans to make its first launch of the 5G smartphone without any problem.

In addition, SK Telecom is preparing to hire a new 5G technology such as '5G Media Compression Technology' to reduce data consumption and 'Galaxy S10 5G'.


"5G-LTE-WiFi 3-stage coupling technology" is followed by "5G-LTE combining technology"

SK Telecom succeeded in verifying '5G-LTE combining technology' that speeds up to 2.7Gbps on November 11, and it was installed first in 'Galaxy S10 5G'.

Furthermore, SK Telecom implemented the "Triple Aggregation", which uses ▲ 5G ▲ LTE ▲ Wi-Fi for data transmission at the same time, in the Galaxy S10 5G, and completed the verification in the 5G commercial network.

The 'three-tier technology' allows users to download content or applications up to 3.9 Gbps in areas where three networks are simultaneously deployed. In just 4 seconds you can get a movie (2GB) on the other hand.

SK Telecom has upgraded Multi-Path TCP (MPTCP), a technology that connects LTE and Wi-Fi, and implemented the '3-step combining technology' preemptively to the Galaxy S10 5G.
...

#Korea #5G SKT and KT announce different strategies. SKT to implement dual-connectivity LTE-NR w. max speeds >2Gbps (demo 2.65Gbps) but KT will not because dual connectivity means higher LTE latency. It means KT will offer lower max speeds (still 1Gbps) than SKT but lower latency

— Rémy Pascal (@remypascal) March 27, 2019

To clarify, KT will not implement "combined LTE-NR DL". In other words its NSA, LTE control, data can be from NR or LTE but not the two simultaneously

— Rémy Pascal (@remypascal) March 28, 2019

Some people are quick to point out the different strategies by different South Korean operators. Dual connectivity means higher speeds but higher latency too while standalone will means lower latency and maybe lower data rates initially.

As we have pointed out, the South Korean operators have already got large amounts of 5G spectrum so speeds will be no issue in long run.

SK Telecom & Samsung performs 5G EN-DC tests, achieve 2.65 Gbps

South Korean MNO SK Telecom and Samsung Electronics has announced that they have successfully completed the network device interoperability test applying Dual Connectivity technology using both 4G and 5G networks provided by Samsung’s Networks Business, a.k.a. ‘E-UTRAN New Radio Dual Connectivity (EN-DC)’ based on the 3GPP Release-15 5G New Radio (NR) standard.

Before proceeding further, if you are not aware of different 5G Network Architecture Options (including EN-DC), you may want to check out our tutorial on 3G4G page here.

According to the Samsung press release:

During the test, both companies have successfully achieved 2.65Gbps in data speeds on the 5G smartphone, combining both 1.5Gbps in 5G using 3.5GHz frequency (100MHz bandwidth) with 1.15Gbps in LTE using 1.8GHz, 2.1GHz, and 2.6GHz frequencies (65MHz bandwidth) all of which are for commercial use by SK Telecom.

The test, carried out at Samsung Electronics located in Suwon, Korea, used Samsung’s commercial 4G and 5G NR end-to-end networks solutions which have been provided to the operator’s current service. In addition, companies used Samsung’s virtual core (vCore) that supports simultaneous 4G and 5G as well as its Galaxy S10 5G, Samsung’s first 5G smartphone which was unveiled last month.

SK Telecom, in particular, will be able to boost the overall transmission data speed by 80% by leveraging the 4G and 5G dual connectivity. It will allow users who are staying in the 5G service coverage to download UHD videos of 2GB in just 6 seconds, and large video content such as 4K VR video of 10GB in less than 30 seconds.

The two companies demonstrated the delivery of multi-gigabit speeds for 5G device, with a focus on seamless user experiences. Wherever mobile service subscribers are without being limited to 4G or 5G service areas, they can expect seamless, consistent, and stable mobile services. In the early stages of 5G era, the combined capabilities of 4G and 5G networks are important forces for mobile carriers to maximize the characteristics of the 5G network – ultra-fast speed, low-latency, and massive-connectivity by leveraging widely deployed 4G network coverage.

The success of the demonstration by SK Telecom and Samsung signifies a blueprint of early 5G deployment, spotlighting a rapid, stable and effective path to 5G service using a dual 4G and 5G approach.

This success is part of an ongoing collaboration between SK Telecom and Samsung of many years. Pushing forward early 5G commercialization, the companies have succeeded in the world’s first 4G and 5G interworking back in 2017 and world’s first 5G Next-Generation Core (5G NC) trial in June 2018, which featured control and user planes separation and VNFs implementation based on 3GPP release 15 standard. These joint forces have led Samsung to become a major partner for SK Telecom to successfully launch 5G mobility commercial service in Korea, December 1st 2018.


Related posts:

• SK Telecom Mobile Network History and 5G
• All three mobile network operators in South Korea launched 5G on Dec 1, 2018
• Current IMT Spectrum Allocation in South Korea

Current IMT Spectrum Allocation in South Korea

The slide below summarises the IMT spectrum allocation before 5G (source presentation)

On 1st Dec 2018, all three operators launched commercial 5G networks simultaneously. The plan was to have nationwide commercial 5G services available for everyone by March 2019 but this date has just been postponed. According to Mobile World Live:

The news outlet cited a number of setbacks as hindering SK Telecom, KT and LG UPlus’ target. Handset availability is presumed to be the main factor in the delay, but the government has also rejected proposed 5G pricing plans submitted by operators.

“Commercialisation of 5G is possible when various factors such as network, smartphones and service are ready”, the country’s Ministry of Science and ICT said in a statement.

While it did not commit to an alternative date for consumer service launch, the ministry said it is coordinating with SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus, along with device makers Samsung and LG Electronics on the matter, the news agency reported.

5G Spectrum has already been auctioned in South Korea with each operator winning 800 MHz in 28 GHz band (high throughput layer) and in C-band (capacity layer), LGU+ received 80 MHz in 3.4 GHz band, KT received 100 MHz in 3.5 GHz band while SK Telecom received 100 MHz in 3.6 GHz band.

All operators are ideally placed with regards to spectrum to role the best possible commercial 5G services there can be. We will just have to wait a bit longer but will happen in 2019 for sure.