[Yonhap News Photo]
SEOUL -- South Korea's top mobile carrier SK Telecom successfully tested fifth-generation (5G) commercial equipment provided by Samsung Electronics, paving the way for the smooth establishment of an ultra-fast mobile network.
SK Telecom said the so-called "First Call" was successfully done at its office in Bundang south of Seoul. It is a final procedure to check if data is being normally transmitted or received in the same environment as commercial service.
The process was carried out with 5G commercial equipment to be installed in the actual field, SK Telecom said, adding all technologies and equipment met international standards required by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a collaboration between groups of telecom standards associations.
Non-standalone 5G standards were decided by 3GPP in December last year. Telecom companies can create 5G networks made by different makers with no worries about incompatibility.
The mobile carrier has selected Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung Electronics as 5G equipment suppliers. SK Telecom and Samsung will put their 5G equipment into a field test to ensure good quality in various environments. The commercial frequency band of 5G is available in December.
In many countries, technology and telecom companies are in the race to commercialize 5G networks, which are vital for the telecom renaissance to be brought by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. South Korean firms are trying hard to commercialize a 5G mobile network ahead of other countries.
Business ties have been forged between South Korean and foreign firms. AT&T, a U.S. telecom company, has selected Samsung as one of its technology suppliers. The American company plans to introduce 5G services in five cities this year and another five other cities in 2018.
South Korea's top telecom company, KT, has tied up with two American tech firms, Intel and Qwilt, for the development of a 5G ecosystem. KT will use Intel's latest processor, memory, storage and networking acceleration technologies to design a platform for 5G content delivery.
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