KT, DT 5G technology JV
November 9, 2020
Korean telco SK Telecom and Deutsche Telekom have entered into an agreement to establish a 5G technology joint venture. They will each hold 50 per cent of the joint venture and each will name one representative to lead the new entity. The joint venture will be headquartered in Germany.
Through the joint venture, the two companies will develop advanced 5G in-building solutions and develop market opportunities starting with Europe. In the mid-to-long-term, they will also evaluate opportunities to cooperate in the areas of augmented reality and virtual reality services, mobile edge computing (MEC) and the app market.
SKT will contribute the technology assets it has developed over the years to the joint venture. The company has already provided 5G/LTE dual-mode repeaters to support Telekom’s customer trial for in-building coverage carried out in eight different cities in Germany – i.e., Berlin, Hamburg, Bonn, Cologne, Munich, Darmstadt, Frankfurt and Leipzig – from August to October 2020. Customer trial results have shown that users experienced significant improvement in 5G and LTE for both voice and data experience with this test device. The joint venture is scheduled to complete the development of an advanced 5G/LTE dual-mode repeater.
“Together with SKT we are able to develop new and innovative products which enhance customer experience,” states Tim Höttges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom. “The first feedback from repeater customer trial has shown the value of our partnership – for us, but more importantly, for our customers. We will start with the repeater, but this joint venture is aiming at a much higher goal. That goal is to create major innovations for both companies fin the years to come.”
“The Partnership between SKT and Deutsche Telekom is very meaningful at a time when the world is heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic,” added Park Jung-ho, CEO of SK Telecom. “The deepened bond between the two companies will play an important role as a bridge between Asia and Europe and lead us to new technologies that can bring greater value to humanity.”
The creation of the JV is still subject to mandatory regulatory approval but expected to close before the end of 2020.