KT Corporation has received the TelecomLead.com Innovation Leaders 2019 award for bringing the world’s first 5G mobile services with innovation in April.
KT, targeting its existing 4G subscribers and business customers, announced its 5G services in April bringing together smartphone makers, content partners, etc. KT has already revealed that it has increased its ARPU indicating the launch of 5G services was a success.
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KT Chairman Hwang Chang-Gyu first envisioned the world’s first commercial 5G network at the MWC 2017. KT was the first to offer unlimited data plans for its 5G network services, enabling mobile phone users to get the best of 5G’s fast and low latency connectivity.
KT took the lead in 5G commercialization, outpacing rivals from telecom markets in China, Japan, US, UK, Switzerland and the UAE.
KT is the first mobile operator to offer unlimited data plans without a speed cap, allowing subscribes to enjoy virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), high-definition movies and cloud-based games on its 5G network. KT’s 5G service is also offering unlimited roaming services in 185 countries.
KT deployed the first phase of its commercial 5G network across South Korea in November 2018. The service primarily covered the country’s populated areas, including the capital Seoul and its surrounding metropolitan area, six other metropolitan cities, most of all 85 major cities, 70 large shopping malls and discount stores and 464 college campuses.
KT has also exclusively built its commercial 5G network to cover key transportation routes, including two major highways, six airports and the ground section of high-speed railways. The company plans to expand the coverage to subways and key sites such as public offices and university hospitals.
The company is offering a visualized map at its corporate website documenting its 5G-serviced areas across the country, updated regularly by cities and districts.
KT operates mobile edge computing (MEC) telecom centers in eight major cities, including one on Jeju Island. KT will be using MEC centers to process data from handsets closest by to enable more reliable and seamless transmission.
KT focuses on eight categories of content: narle, Real 360, eSports Live, Streaming Games, Real Genie Pack, GiGA Live TV, Pro Baseball Live and Musician Live.
KT plans to create 5G theme park in partnership with Seoul Land, one of the first amusement parks in South Korea, on the outskirts of the capital city. The company has already opened VRIGHT, a virtual reality theme park in Seoul.
KT will focus on the development of five key areas: smart cities, smart factories, connected cars, 5G media and the 5G cloud. KT’s partners include Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Mobis, Posco, Intel, Ericsson, Nvidia and Qualcomm.