SK Telecom partners with Samsung for technical cooperation and joint research in 5G and 6G

By Lim Chang-won Posted : June 18, 2019, 10:33 Updated : June 18, 2019, 10:33

[Gettyimages Bank]

SEOUL -- SK Telecom, a top mobile carrier in South Korea, signed a business agreement with Samsung Electronics to push for joint research in 6G evolution technologies while developing and commercializing 5G-related network technologies, smart solutions, innovative devices and software.

SK Telecom (SKT) said Tuesday that the two companies would draw up requirements for 6G technologies and jointly study new business models using 6G. SKT has tied up with major equipment makers including Nokia and Ericsson on joint research into 5G upgrading and 6G evolution technologies.

SKT's cooperation with Samsung covers URLLC (ultra-reliable low latency communication), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology for self-driving technologies and drones, 5G standalone (SA) networks, multiple antenna technologies, and 5G in-building solutions.

South Korean firms commercialized 5G mobile networks based on non-standalone (NSA) standards. The advantage of standalone (SA) is simplification and improved efficiency, but the first wave of 5G networks and devices was NSA using 4G infrastructure.

V2X communication is the passing of information from a vehicle to any entity. It incorporates other more specific types of communication to ensure road safety, traffic efficiency and energy savings.

URLLC is for latency sensitive devices for applications like factory automation, autonomous driving, and remote surgery. These applications require sub-millisecond latency. New techniques need to be devised to meet the stringent latency and reliability requirements for URLLC.

South Korean researchers call for the early and pre-emptive development of 6G technologies. Because 6G is 100 times faster than 4G LTE and five times faster than 5G, scientists say it will open a completely new era.

In January, LG Electronics opened a 6G research lab through cooperation with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST), a prestigious state science school, to secure core technologies for 6G mobile communication. In June, Samsung established a research team specializing in the development of 6G communication technology.

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