South Korean operator KT Group has unveiled a plan to invest a total of KRW 23 trillion (approximately USD 20.4 billion) over the next five years in 5G and other innovative technologies. KT has also recently inaugurated the 5G Open Lab at its Research and Development (R&D) center in Seoul, which will promote industrial collaborations with both local and global business partners. The lab is aimed at developing new services using 5G wireless technology.
The 5G Open Lab has three collaborative spaces, including Infra Zone, Media Zone and Smart-X Zone, as well as an exhibition room. Any enterprise interested in the development of 5G services may use the lab to plan, test and verify services. Enterprises can experience various new 5G corporate services and services in the showroom.
Infra Zone is dedicated to both the development and testing of 5G-related infrastructure and virtualization technologies; Media Zone will be used for the development of AR/VR, and other 5G immersive media and entertainment services; and Smart-X Zone has been created for the development and testing of application services related to the IoT.
KT has created a website for the 5G Open Lab to provide information about the special collaborative center, such as how to make a business proposal or reserve the showroom. The company also plans to provide its specialized core 5G technologies to outside developers as Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) through a separate website (API Link: https//apilink.kt.co.kr).
The 5G Open Lab will be expanded and relocated by the end of this year to Pangyo, one of the country's newest smart cities, south of Seoul. The expansion will allow the lab to accommodate more startups and corporate partners. The 5G hub will be renamed Open Innovation Lab in the country's new smart city.
KT has also recently hosted the Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement (SCFA) 5G Technology Strategy Meeting with major carriers from China and Japan, in Seoul last week. Representatives from KT, China Mobile and NTT DoCoMo attended the meeting to discuss 5G commercialization strategies and specialized technologies.
KT has also announced plans to focus on five different areas, including smart cities, smart factories, connected cars, 5G media and the 5G cloud, with the goal of providing innovative next-generation services for mobile users. The company is collaborating with various companies and the Korean government to develop 5G services for both Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Government (B2G) industries.
A commercial 5G network in South Korea is expected to create KRW 30.3 trillion in socioeconomic value in 2025, 1.5 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), according to a report from the KT Economic and Management Research Institute (KT EMRI). The report forecasts that number will increase to at least 47.8 trillion won, 2.1 percent of GDP, in 2030.
