Alcatel-Lucent has signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korean telecommunications provider, KT, under which the companies will collaborate to advance 5G development in South Korea with initial testing focusing on virtualized RAN to support next generation mobile architecture. This will allow KT to meet the massive connectivity demands of the Internet of Things (IoT) – delivering a personalized experience as more people, devices and machines are connected.

The scope of this agreement includes the development and testing of mobile ultra-broadband access, network functions virtualization (NFV) and software defined networking (SDN) technologies for 5G network architectures and interfaces as well as the driving of interworking and 3GPP standardization activities.

At Mobile World Congress this year, Alcatel-Lucent demonstrated how its vRAN capability could help operators dynamically meet changing customer, market and environmental demands while enhancing network performance and lowering costs.

Amid the exploding demand today for data caused by smartphones and other mobile devices, and increasingly via technologies such as ‘the Internet of Things’ and machine-to-machine networks, 5G technology promises greater speeds, capacity and flexibility, enabling mobile operators to meet the data demand in a highly personalized way. It will also deliver a completely ‘untethered’ experience, enabling people and connected devices to access any information from anywhere and in any way they choose.                            

South Korea has a strong appetite for data: according to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning at the end of February 2015 72% of mobile subscribers were smartphone users. KT wants to leverage the flexibilities and efficiencies promised by 5G to offer subscribers a high-quality seamless mobile broadband experience, with new differentiated and personalized revenue-generating services.