SK Telecom is going to spread South Korea's 5G MEC (Mobile Edge Computing) technology overseas along with global IT company Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE).
To this end, SK Telecom signed a cooperative contract with HPE APAC and Korea HPE at SKT headquarters in Eulji-ro, Seoul on July 21.
MEC consortium will provide MEC-related hardware and software in a total package to the desired carriers. SK Telecom will be in charge of MEC software in the consortium, while HPE will be in charge of providing hardware and other infrastructures, operating and maintaining local businesses.
MEC consortium first supplies MEC packages to Southeast Asian carriers. It is currently in talks with Malaysian and Thai telecommunication companies regarding supply contracts.
Based on SK Telecom's global networking, the company plans to seek out exports to various carriers based in North America and Europe.
5G MEC is a major 5G technology that increases performance of ultra-low delay services such as cloud game, smart factory, autonomous driving and vehicle control, AI/Data computing and G5G robots by creating a shortcut for wireless data transmission.
SK Telecom is preparing for a MEC-based cloud business by applying its own MEC solution to virtual reality (AR, VR) and establishing partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft.
SK Telecom explained that it has secured 'universal availability', which is the core of global standards, through MEC technology export. As requests for cooperation in MEC technologies are increasing from telecommunication businesses in various countries, chances are high that global standards will be formed around SKT MEC technology.
In addition, SK Telecom is developing 'MEC Interlinked Platform' technology that links different MEC technologies and is currently developing pilot test plans with major foreign telecommunication businesses. Through this process, it is planning to work with global telecommunication businesses to discover 5G MEC services and take the lead in preparing a service ecosystem.
"Through this consortium, we proved that global telecommunication companies are interested in 5G MEC commercial technology and platforms developed by SK Telecom," said Kim Yoon, CTO of SK Telecom. "We will continue to accelerate the expansion of the global 5G MEC ecosystem based on our capabilities to develop preemptive technologies and experience in commercializing 5G services."
"We expect this cooperation to create an ecosystem where Asian telecommunication companies can launch various MEC services. Digital transformation innovation will be accelerated," said Narinder Kapoor, CEO of HPE APAC.
