Korea’s leading mobile network operator SK Telecom said Thursday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Swedish network equipment firm Ericsson to build infrastructure to test fifth-generation networks.

Participating in the memorandum signing ceremony in Stockholm on Tuesday, Park Jin-hyo, the head of SKT’s network technology research and development center, and Per Navinger of Ericsson pledged to work together on building the infrastructure and testing core 5G network technology connecting mobile devices.

The 5G network is expected to boast connectivity speeds faster than 20 gigabits per second, enabling the rapid transmission of large amounts of data, including hologram and virtual reality video files.

The two partners plan to run joint projects to develop technology to make devices and wireless and wired networks compatible with each other this year and to run test services with customers.

“The development of the 5G technology has gained momentum thanks to the efforts made by global ICT firms,” said the SKT executive, adding “SKT will also spare no effort to complete the construction of the 5G test bed and to become the first company that commercializes the 5G services.”

The Korean firm and the Swedish company have worked together on joint research and development projects in 5G technology since 2014.

Global wireless network firms have been gearing up to adopt the next generation of networks, and Korean mobile carriers including SKT and KT are among those at the forefront of the 5G race.

A series of 5G trials will be conducted by SKT and KT over the next couple years and the 5G services will be partially available during the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province.

By 2020, the 5G network services are expected to be deployed nationwide in Korea.

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