SK Telecom CEO Jang Dong-hyun, who is participating in the Mobile World Congress underway in Barcelona, said teaming up with global network operators will be a key strategy for the firm to make inroads in global markets.

The chief of South Korea’s largest telecom operator is meeting with chiefs of global device makers and telecom firms at the trade show.

Network operators often face hurdles to run global businesses since they have to pour a great amount of resources into building and maintaining infrastructure. Those who benefit the most from the network infrastructure are often Internet services providers, such as Google, Facebook and Amazon.

In order for network operators to overcome those hurdles and expand presence in the global markets without a hitch, the SKT CEO said at a press meeting in Barcelona Tuesday that “global partnerships are vital.”

Deutsche Telekom CEO Timotheus Hoettges who was also present at the press meeting echoed him, saying that “the partnership with SKT is important,” for the German telecom firm to make forays into Asia, which is a vibrant region full of innovation but a relatively untapped market for the German company.

The two telecom firms have inked a partnership deal to cooperate in promoting services of each company, including SKT’s cloud streaming services and Deutsche Telekom’s in-car Wi-Fi solution, in Korea and Europe.

The German company will also help its Korean counterpart to roll out a pico project, dubbed UO Smart Beam Laser, in the European market.

The two also vowed to work on developing network devices and solutions and 5G technologies down the road.

While participating in the Mobile World Congress being held in the Spanish city, the Korean firm won an award for outstanding contribution to long-term evolution technology from GSMA, the organizer of the mobile fair.

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