KT, Nokia to collaborate on 6G technology

KT and Nokia have agreed to partner on the research and development of 6G technology, expected to see commercialization in 2030.

Lee Jong-sik, head of KT's infrastructure digital transformation lab, right, and Ari Kynäslahti, vice president at Nokia, shake hands during a signing ceremony at KT's research and development center in southern Seoul on Wednesday. [KT]

KT will work with Nokia to research and develop 6G technology, as well as establish standards and take early leadership of the network, which is expected to see commercialization in 2030.

The two companies signed an agreement on the matter at KT's R&D center in southern Seoul Wednesday.

Under the agreement, KT and the Finnish telecommunication giant will work on building an Open Radio Access Network and ultra wideband wireless access utilizing candidate frequencies for 6G.

“Through the latest partnership with Nokia, KT expects to take leadership in developing telecommunication technology that is directly related to future cloud and AI services,” said Lee Jong-sik, head of KT's infrastructure digital transformation lab.

Frameworks and road maps for the next-generation technology, which is expected to enable higher speed and lower latency compared to existing networks, are currently in the works under the International Telecommunication Union and the 3rd Generation Partnership Project, a coalition of telecommunications associations.

The 3GPP has recently agreed to complete the development of a commercialized 6G network and its standards, dubbed Release 21, by 2029.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]