SK Telecom is planning to develop technologies that will interlock different kinds of 5G network equipment.
SK Telecom proposed ‘a roadmap that verifies compatibility between different kinds of 5G equipment’ to a global 5G technology consultative group called ‘NGMN (Next Generation Mobile Networks’.
SK Telecom, which is the chair of NGMN’s branch that interwork 5G early commercialization program called TTI’s (Trial & Testing Initiative) equipment, is going to cooperate with global companies such as Orange, T-Mobile, Vodafone, China Mobile, Huawei, and Qualcomm in order to create a roadmap to interwork 5G equipment.
SK Telecom is planning to develop standards and verification method so that equipment from different manufacturers can be interworked between 5G devices and base stations and base stations and core network by first quarter of 2018. Afterwards it is going to develop standards that support 5G-LTE NSA (Non Standalone) standard by fourth quarter of 2018 and push for verification of compatibility and interwork standards between different kinds of equipment based on 5G SA (Standalone) standard by 2019.
Interwork between network equipment from different manufacturers is seen as a final preparation towards commercialization of 5G network.
Preparation of Interwork standards is a sequence that pushes forward commercialization of 5G network. It is common that mobile network providers choose ‘multi-vender’ strategy, which utilizes equipment from variety of manufacturers, during commercialization stage of 5G network. If interwork between equipment from different manufacturers does not take place, commercialization has to be delayed until appropriate standards are prepared.
SK Telecom is going to support its infrastructures such as Bundang Laboratory’s 5G test bed in order to research standards for interwork. Because 5G equipment developers such as Samsung Electronics, Nokia, and Ericsson are all moved into this test bed, SK Telecom explains that it is the optimal condition for testing interwork between equipment.
Its goal is to eventually apply standards for interlock to standards of 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), which is a private standardization organization.
“By establishing standards and verification methods for interwork between 5G equipment, we are going to make sure that interwork between 5G equipment is easy and accurate.” said Director Park Jin-hyo of SK Telecom Network Technical Institute. “We are going to contribute in pushing forward commercialization of 5G standards.”
Staff Reporter Park, Jisung | jisung@etnews.com