Focus Shift

Communication companies are seeking to transform into service operators of a variety of services from a simple mobile telecommunication carriers.
Communication companies are seeking to transform into service operators of a variety of services from a simple mobile telecommunication carriers.

 

5G, which has data speeds 100 times faster than current 4G networks, is shifting the competitive landscape of the mobile communications market.

As there is a growing realization that it can no longer survive with conventional competitive patterns of simply charging fees for communications services every month based on speedy networks, global mobile carriers have scrambled to establish the 5G network and develop its services simultaneously. Accordingly, communication companies are seeking to transform into service operators of a variety of services from a simple mobile telecommunication carriers. The core competitive areas of 5G include autonomous vehicles, hologram videos and personal assistant services.

According to industry sources on December 25, three South Korean mobile service providers – SK Telecom, KT and LG U+ – are going all out to secure the leadership in 5G international standards and commercialize 5G in earnest. When the companies lead international standards, they will be able to set a solid foundation to partner with global manufacturers in various areas, includ cars and devices, and develop new services based on it. Therefore, they seem to focus on promoting the 5G network as a popular brand first.

SK Telecom has recently put up “Quantum” as a common brand for converged services including the 5G network and connected cars. With a dictionary definition of quantum, the company is planning to take a quantum jump, which refers to a great leap, by converging ultra-high speed, hyper connected and ultra-low latency network technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and autonomous driving.

In fact, SK Telecom jointly succeeded in demonstrating connected cars based on the 5G network for the first time in the world with BMW, accelerating the preoccupancy of future growth engines.

KT has launched “GiGAtopia" as its representative brand with the gigabit-level internet technology which offers a 10 times faster network speed than the existing long-term-evolution (LTE) service. GiGAtopia is an intelligent network which provides both faster speeds and numerous solutions at the same time.

Ushering in the era of the 5G network, LG U+ has also released its customized service “Me-Centric” as the representative brand. Centering on users’ personal lives, the company is seeking to provide each user with services tailored to different lifestyles, such as AI assistant, mobile video and smart home.

Industry watchers said, “When 5G network is put into commercial use, the competition for communications speeds is inevitable. However, the actual competitive points will be how well companies realize services.”

In fact, Japan’s NTT Docomo is now developing 5G services in cooperation with a game developer. In particular, as 5G devices are to come onto the market one after another after the second half of next year, various devices, including wearables, small drones, connected cars, virtual reality (VR) as well as smartphones, will converge with 5G technology and related services will be advanced. 

 

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