5G Initiative
While global IT companies are moving very fast under the table in order to take initiative in the coming 5G telecommunication war, Korea, one of the strongest IT countries, is losing influence in the market. Korea used to lead the global IT industry with its innovative technology of 2G, 3G, WiBro, and 4G through commercializing CDMA, but this could all be in the past now.
The Korean government and IT companies are cooperating very closely with foreign governments and network equipment manufacturers to standardize the 5G network and develop innovative technology, according to the industry on July 2. However, the fact that Korea cooperates with foreign countries implies that the IT strength of Korea has been shaken to its foundation.
5G is the next generation technology that is approximately 1,000 times faster than Long Term Evolution (LTE). Although its technology, standards and even frequency are not yet determined, government, IT equipment manufacturers, and telecommunication service providers around the globe are attempting to come up with 5G strategies.
The Korean government aims to lead the market and to cooperate with other countries at the same time based on their previous experience. The Korean government understands that its own technology of WCDMA or WiBro is not marketable worldwide, and therefore is trying to strengthen its global partnerships. Korea plans to compete against Europe and North America based on strong cooperative relationships, especially with China and Japan.
In reality, though, it is pointed out that Korea does not lead other countries, but it rather is led by them. There are currently not enough human resources in Korea to adequately represent the country at the International 5G Standard Organization. In the meantime, network companies overseas are actively working on future technology, and their outcomes are very good so far.
On that day, Ericsson announced that it developed pre-5G standard technology which enables 5Gbps wireless data transmission speeds at 15GHz, together with SK Telecom and NTT Docomo. The Multi Input Multi Output (MIMO) essence of 5G technology was used for this. This is faster than the 5G technology of Samsung which was introduced at the 2014 MWC on June 2. The technology shown by Samsung transmits data faster than the 1Gbps possible through ultra high frequency.