KT teams up with Swedish telecom giant for 5G, IoT

Top executives of South Korea’s largest telecommunications firm KT and Stockholm-based mobile carrier TeliaSonera met in Seoul Thursday to discuss collaboration on the next-generation 5G network and the Internet of Things, which connects objects over networks.

Providing telecom services for more than 72 million subscribers across 17 North European and Central Asian nations, TeliaSonera is the largest mobile carrier in Northern Europe and launched the Long-Term Evolution service for the first time in the world in Stockholm and Oslo in 2009.

Johan Dennelind, chief executive of the Swedish mobile carrier, and other executives including Sverker Hannervall, chief of the firm’s network business, and marketing chief Helene Barnekow paid a visit to KT’s LTE Innovation Center in Gangnam to get hands-on experience with the Korean firm’s mobile services.

The TeliaSonera CEO and officials also visited KT’s headquarters in Gwanghwamun to discuss IoT businesses based on the 5G network.

“KT CEO Hwang Chang-gyu and the TeliaSonera CEO talked about future business models and standardization of the 5G technology,” a KT official said.

The executives from the European mobile network operator paid keen attention to KT’s initiative to expand the LTE network coverage to distant islands and islets, aimed at narrowing the information gap between residents in cities and those in rural areas, according to KT.

By Kim Young-won  (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)