Alcatel-Lucent has signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korean telecommunications provider, KT, under which the companies will collaborate to test technologies for the eventual introduction of 5G mobile networks and infrastructure capable of meeting the huge connectivity demands expected in the future.
The collaboration will initially focus on Alcatel-Lucent’s virtualized Radio Access Network (vRAN) technology. At Mobile World Congress this year, Alcatel-Lucent demonstrated how its vRAN capability could help operators dynamically meet changing customer, market and environmental demands while enhancing network performance and lowering costs.
Amid the exploding demand today for data caused by smartphones and other mobile devices, and increasingly via technologies such as ‘the Internet of Things’ and machine-to-machine networks, 5G technology promises greater speeds, capacity and flexibility, enabling mobile operators to meet the data demand in a highly personalised way.
It will also deliver a completely ‘untethered’ experience, enabling people and connected devices to access any information from anywhere and in any way they choose.
South Korea has a strong appetite for data: according to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning at the end of February 2015 72% of mobile subscribers were smartphone users. KT wants to leverage the flexibilities and efficiencies promised by 5G to offer subscribers a high-quality seamless mobile broadband experience, with new differentiated and personalised revenue-generating services.