The Korean company said the two partners would work together on selecting and testing frequency bands, which can be utilized for the 5G network in the future, and rolling out prototypes of 5G-enabled devices that are also compatible with the current 3G and Long-Term Evolution networks.

“This new MOU deepens the cooperation between SK Telecom and Intel to develop and secure key enabling technologies for 5G,” Choi Jin-sung, SKT’s chief technology officer said.

“We will continue to make efforts to provide customers with unprecedented value through innovative 5G services,” he added.

The Korean wireless carrier introduces its network technologies at the trade show, including Anchor-Booster Cell, which improves transmission of large chunks of data, and Massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output, which enhances base station capacity for data transmission and reception.

Hwang Chang-gyu, the chief executive of KT, has a full schedule during the trade show, busily meeting chiefs of global telecom companies.

Participating Tuesday in a board meeting of the GSMA, a global association for mobile operators and related firms, Hwang emphasized that the global mobile carriers and telecom equipment makers should work closely to standardize 5G technologies before 2020 when the next-generation network is expected to be commercialized.

As part of efforts to beef up partnerships with Chinese telecom firms, Hwang also had meetings with China Mobile chairman Xi Guohua to discuss joint projects for 5G services, voice over LTE and the “Internet of Things,” referring to Internet-connected products.

KT is said to have suggested that the two join forces to roll out advanced 5G services for international sporting games.

The mobile carrier is already the official telecommunications partner for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and Beijing is bidding for the quadrennial winter sporting event in 2022.

LG Uplus has announced a plan to team up with Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei to conduct research and development projects for commercializing the next-gen network.

The Korean three mobile carriers and the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning won an award from GSMA at MWC Shanghai for commercializing the world’s first voice over LTE services between LTE networks operated by different firms.

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