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Firms compete to usher in 5G era [Emirates News Agency (WAM) (United Arab Emirates)](Emirates News Agency (WAM) (United Arab Emirates) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Global IT giants showcased fifth-generation (5G) technology and networks capable of handling mobile data traffic at incredible speeds at the ongoing World IT Show 2014 in Busan this week. In their exhibition booths, KT, SK Telecom, LG, Samsung and Hauwei allowed visitors to take a glimpse of how people's lives will change with the next generation of telecom infrastructure. Unprecedented experience with faster Internet KT, the nation's largest fixed-line operator, exhibited its latest technologies including the holography entertainment facility K-live Hall, a disaster-emergency telecom network called PowerTalk 2.0 and a medical research application EyeWire that can be realized on the foundation of the gigabit-class Internet it launched at the show on Monday. The GiGA Internet is 10 times faster than existing 100 megabit-per-second (Mbps) high-speed Internet access. This means users can download a 4-gigabyte video file or 1,000 music files in 33 seconds. The company emphasized that the faster Internet will digitalize manufacturing and agricultural industries, while improving social infrastructure such as transportation, energy and disaster prevention. KT also unveiled an even faster 10 gigabit-per-second (Gbps) Internet that it has developed and tested since 2010. It said the time of release for the 10 Gbps GiGA Internet is not decided yet. SK Telecom, the nation's largest mobile carrier, arranged the exhibition themed around the 5G telecom network. It exhibited telecom equipment for the 5G network that has up to 3.7 Gbps transfer speed. The company said the next-generation network will enable the development of new technologies such as UHD video call, quantum telecom encryption, virtual reality, improved home security, unmanned aerial vehicle control, remote-controlled surgical operations and video education for students in remote areas. Theoretically, the 5G telecom network is capable of supporting up to a 3-4 gigabit-per-second (Gbps) transfer speed, which is about 50 times faster than the existing 75 megabits-per-second speed of the long-term evolution (LTE) network. It also has 1,000 times more data capacity compared to the LTE. This means a user can watch 100 different ultra high-definition (UHD) videos at the same time. Once realized, the 5G network is expected to significantly improve related technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), smart cars and networked robotics. Earlier on Monday, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Samsung Electronics to cooperate in the development of the 5G technology. Park In-sik, head of network business at SK Telecom, hosted a sideline event titled 5G Global Summit and talked about the telecom company's pledge to become the world's first to commercialize the 5G network service by May 2020. LG Uplus shared a booth with LG Electronics and displayed video-related technologies including the world's first quad-core UHD Internet television, LTE-based private broadcasting and home video security service. The nation's smallest mobile carrier has increasingly promoted its video streaming telecom technologies and services. LG Uplus Vice Chairman Lee Sang-chul emphasized increased connectivity and the importance of cloud computing in the 5G era during his keynote speech at the 5G Global Summit on Monday. He added that the company is working with its partners - Samsung Electronics, Huawei and Nokia - to prepare for the surge of data traffic in the future and to unveil the 5G service by 2020. Race fierce to preoccupy 5G Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei said the global effort for standardizing and defining the 5G network should come first. The 5G technology has no standardized definition upon which the world has agreed, said Wannie Chung, director of public affairs and communications department at Huawei Technologies Korea. Huawei already succeeded in demonstrating 115 Gbps speed in a lab test and has talked with global companies including Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent to bring a unionized direction for the 5G network. Under the agreement, we plan to launch it by 2020. Alongside the 5G base station technology, the Chinese company also showcased its storage server products and mobile devices and added it will continue to expand business in Korea. ICT Minister Choi Yang-hee also emphasized the importance of standardizing the new technology. Korea has overlooked the importance of technology standardization. Companies here already knew that this can create profits and help them dominate the global market, Choi said in a press meeting in Busan, Wednesday. Foreign countries in Europe, and Japan, already have organizations for technology standardization and Korea needs to accelerate the effort to establish a global consortium for this and keep up with the fast pace in the global industry. Meanwhile, Korea, China and Japan boasted that they will lead 5G network development globally during the ITU meeting. Korea plans to unveil the technology at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Representatives from Japan and China said that they are increasingly investing in it also, with China designating the development of 5G technology as one of the national objectives. (c) 2014 Emirates News Agency (WAM) Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |