KT sees future growth in holographic communications

[Image source: Pixabay]

Ever since Kim Young-shub took office as the new chief executive officer of KT Corp. on September 7, industry attention has been on his mention of “holographic communication” during his debut appearance at the GSMA’s Mobile 360 Asia-Pacific conference.

The prospect of telecom companies successfully implementing holographic communication has generated much interest due to the potential for expanded services and profitability, including remote surgeries and virtual performances.

Industry experts project that holographic communication will gain momentum around the 2030s, coinciding with the anticipated arrival of 6G technology.

Unlike conventional video communication, which primarily involves seeing each other’s faces while engaging in voice calls, holographic communication signifies interacting using fully realized holograms of individuals’ bodies.

According to telecom equipment manufacturer Ericsson, achieving holographic communication involves three key processes – capture and preprocessing, data compression and transmission, and reconstruction and visualization.

This entails capturing the image of a person’s body rapidly on mobile devices or tablets, compressing and transmitting it in milliseconds, and then reconstructing it for visualization.

Ericsson specifically emphasized the need for technology capable of compressing and transmitting real-time video, downloaded at 20Gbps, down to 30-50Mbps to maintain seamless holographic video communication without interruptions.

Currently, 5G networks offer download speeds of approximately 1Gbps. To realize holographic communication, a download speed 20 times faster than the current 5G, along with real-time compression capabilities, is necessary.

“It’s still a concept that seems far from reality, and it requires the support of high-capacity communication technologies associated with 6G,” said an industry official.

The Institute of Advanced Convergence Technology projects that the domestic holographic market in Korea will grow to 1.4 trillion won ($1.05 billion) by 2025, a twofold increase from 2018, with an annual growth rate of 10 percent.