SKT one step ahead ¡°IoT will be commercialized nationwide in April¡±
Kim Ji Young | kjy@ | 2018-02-22 10:35:23

SK Telecom announced on the 21st that it has upgraded 'Hybrid IoT network' with Laura network and 'LTE Cat.M1' on two days. 'LTE Cat.M1' is a technology standardized by 3GPP, an international standardization organization, capable of low-capacity video and high-definition photo and voice transmission. Kim Ji Young kjy@

SK Telecom is expected to build `LTE Cat M1`, a nationwide network of Internet (IoT) following `LoRa` network, and commercialize it in April. IoT is better than the aggressive line to win an advantage in the competition.

SK Telecom, on February 21, announced that it has upgraded `Hybrid IoT network` which is two axis of Laura net and `LTE Cat. M1` by holding a press conference at SK headquarters in Seoul, Seoul on the 21st. `LTE Cat.M1` is a technology standardized by 3GPP, an international standardization organization, capable of transmitting low-capacity video and high-definition pictures and voice.

The power efficiency of `LTE Cat.M1` is higher than that of existing `LTE-M`, but the module price is more than 30% cheaper. For manufacturers, the cost burden on IoT devices is expected to decline as the cost of manufacturing IoT devices can be lowered. Besides, various manufacturers can enter the market, and IoT ecosystem is expected to be activated.

SK Telecom Smart City Unit TF Director of SK Telecom said, "With this commercialization, SK Telecom will be able to provide complete IoT network coverage with low-power and low-capacity data transmission," said Laura. And LTE Cat.M1 will be available for mid-range services such as photos, "he said." I can provide all the networks required by the IoT ecosystem."

Meanwhile, SK Telecom also unveiled LTE Cat.M1-based `Black Box Modem` and `Blood Glucose Monitoring Device` to be showcased at MWC 2018. `LTE Cat.M1` enables users to view images taken from a black box of a parking car in real time on a mobile phone and to provide integrated healthcare service.

These services are difficult to utilize LTE communication network because of low power efficiency and high communication module price, but commercialization of LTE Cat.

SK Telecom has completed development of `LTE Cat.M1` technology in 2017 and completed testing network. In addition, commercial LTE base station technology application and field test were conducted. SK Telecom plans to start `LTE Cat. M1` in April after finishing network stabilization and optimization in March. In the upcoming 5G era, the convergence of offline and mobile, such as autonomous driving and smart city, is expected to explode. SK Telecom predicts that the LTE Cat. M1 network will become an important bridgehead for the 5G era and that the introduction of the LTE Cat. M1 will change the landscape of the IoT industry.

SK Telecom plans to launch `IoT Black Box` and `Blood Glucose Monitoring Manager` using LTE Cat. M1 will be introduced at MWC 2018, in April.

The IoT black box service provides incident notification and video transmission, vehicle theft detection, and battery discharge protection notification. The blood glucose measurement service also uses LTE Cat.M1, which enables real-time data accumulation of measurement results and continuous and periodic management of measured values, enabling more effective chronic disease management. An official of SK Telecom said, "We plan to launch up to 20 species from 10 species this year."

"SK Telecom is the only country in Korea to have a multi-IoT nationwide network and is spurring the development of various IoT technologies and services for the era of super connectivity," said Hail Kyu, head of SK Telecom`s IoT/Data business. It will lead the industry as well as the ecosystem."

By Kim Ji Young kjy@


[ copyright ¨Ï The Digitaltimes ]