SKT, Samsung Electronics Develop Next-Generation Packet Switch

SK Telecom and Samsung Electronics have jointly developed a next-generation ultra-high-speed packet switch.

In November last year, SK Telecom developed terabit (Tb) packet processing acceleration technology, which is 10 times faster than existing ones. This time, the company developed commercial equipment based on the new technology.

The packet exchange is a gateway through which all voice and data traffic from mobile devices such as smartphones must go to access an internet network. It can be compared to highway toll gates.

The next generation packet exchange is characterized by its ability to automatically distinguish the characteristics of traffic by services and connect to an internet network. Existing packet exchanges collectively process all data traffic without distinguishing their characteristics.

Even if a user uses multiple services simultaneously (multitasking) on a smartphone, each line of service traffic is separately processed.

"The next-generation packet exchange is vital to a reliable provision of new services such as virtual reality, augmented reality, holograms, and autonomous vehicles that will emerge in the 5G era," an SK Telecom official explained.

SK Telecom released a white paper on 5G packet processing acceleration technology used to develop next-generation packet switching equipment with a view to expanding related ecosystems. Interested telecom equipment makers can freely browse the white paper and use the technology in the development of application equipment.

SK Telecom plans to commercialize the next-generation packet switch in an LTE network in the second half of this year before beginning commercializing 5G. The company will carry out on-site application tests (field tests), too.

"We will expand the development of technology that can maximize the performance of 5G networks and actively nurture an ecosystem in which domestic equipment manufacturers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can grow together," Park Jin-hyo, director of the ICT Technology Center at SK Telecom, said.