5G collaboration in lead up to 2018 Winter Games

KT is in the final stages of testing a new 5G trial network that will deliver entirely new experiences in the city of PyeongChang – host of the 2018 Winter Games.

Following an MoU that was signed in 2015, KT, Ericsson, and several other technology partners, are cooperating to build, test and optimize a 5G network in preparation for the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang. At an April 2017 meeting, KT and its partners agreed on steps to deploy and optimize a trial 5G network during 2017 including plans for joint technology development.

Additionally, Ericsson and KT conducted tests along the Incheon Airport Railway – a new high speed rail line linking the capital of Seoul with Incheon International Airport. The successful tests included a hand over between 5G base stations along the railway and a peak throughput of 4Gbps.

Fredrik Jejdling, Head of Business Area Networks, Ericsson, says: “We have been closely collaborating with KT on 5G since the 5G MoU was signed in 2015. Our end-to-end 5G capabilitiesincluding radio and core network infrastructure as well as services like Omni view, will enable KT to deliver entirely new experiences to its subscribers”.

Moving forward, Ericsson and KT have agreed to jointly develop beam forming / beam tracking technology and 5G-LTE inter-working technology to optimize capacity and coverage with robust performance.

Infrastructure in the 28GHz trial 5G trial network will include virtual radio access network (vRAN) and virtualized core (5G core system) and KT is already in the process of conducting interoperability tests based on the PyeongChang 5G SIG specification.

Seong-Mok Oh, Head of Network Group at KT, says: “Stability and interoperability among multiple services, systems and device manufacturers needs to be verified well in in advance of the trial network. We are raising the bar through our collaboration with partners such as Ericsson who are leading 5G technology and standardization”.

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