The demonstration, held at the ‘Korea International Circuit’ racetrack, was made possible by Samsung Networks’ end-to-end 5G mmWave solutions, including 5G New Radio (NR) base stations. The same equipment has been in commercial operation in the United States since the first half of this year.

While the racing car moved at approximately 130 miles per hour (210Km/hour) on the track, the trial verified the stable performance of live downloads, uploads and handovers between 5G cell sites on the racetrack. Download speeds reached up to 1Gbps, demonstrating the capacity for multi-gigabit downloads on a 5G device inside a racing car, using 200MHz bandwidth of 28GHz spectrum.

5G’s high speeds, instantaneous communications, and seamless handovers allow for a more effective and safer way to transfer video to and from cars accelerating up to 130 miles per hour (200~370Km/hour.) The companies were able to use this live video streaming capability to broadcast multiple views of the race in real time over SK Telecom’s live broadcasting solution, T Live Caster 5G.

The test showed that the mmWave technology can unlock the full potential of 5G, for delivering innovative uses cases and business models, such as new entertainment experiences in motor sport events. For example, cameras built into the cars’ cockpits will be able to stream real-time video data from each car over 5G wireless links, allowing viewers to enjoy vivid scenes of the race from the driver’s point of view. Through VR, AR and 360 degree video streams, racing fans will be able to enjoy the immersive experience of feeling as if they are inside an actual moving car.

“5G already opened up a new horizon when the first commercial service started in the first half of 2019 across Korea and the U.S.,” said Jaeho Jeon, Executive Vice President and Head of R&D, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “Samsung is at the forefront with global operators in bringing 5G benefits to consumers, industries and societies by helping them deliver 5G commercial networks. This trial is a great example of taking a user experience and the racing industry to new heights.”

“5G commercial service means much more than just faster speeds. It is a vital engine in transforming digital landscapes to bring enhanced and new business models that had only lived in our imagination,” said Park Jin-hyo, Chief Technology Officer and Head of ICT R&D Center of SK Telecom. “We will continue to work closely with Samsung in pushing the limits of legacy technology and maximizing the power of the 5G network.”

In September 2017, Samsung achieved the world’s first 5G handover at 118 miles per hour (190Km/hour) and 1Gbps speed download in a vehicle moving at 127 miles per hour (205Km/hour) in Korea (Link). Based on these achievements, Samsung has advanced network innovation through a comprehensive series of real-world use cases powered by 5G in partnership with global operators, helping to overcome the limits of legacy technology.

About SK Telecom

SK Telecom is the largest mobile operator in Korea with nearly 50 percent of the market share. As the pioneer of all generations of mobile networks, the company has commercialized the fifth generation (5G) network on December 1, 2018 and announced the first 5G smartphone subscribers on April 3, 2019. With its world’s best 5G, SK Telecom is set to realize the Age of Hyper-Innovation by transforming the way customers work, live and play. Building on its strength in mobile services, the company is also creating unprecedented value in diverse ICT-related markets including media, security and commerce.

For more information, please contact skt_press@sk.com or sktelecom@bcw-global.com

The 5G SA Core, jointly developed by Samsung Electronics and SK Telecom, not only supports technologies including network slicing and function modularization based on 3GPP standards, but also offers additional functions that operators have been using since LTE, include billing, subscriber management and operational convenience system. The interoperability assessment is the final stage for verifying the validity of 5G SA data transmission, signifying that the SA system is ready to be launched for commercial service.

Both companies implemented several cutting-edge technologies in the 5G SA Core that has been used for the interoperability. The technologies include Data Parallel Processing technology that performs QoS and transmission control simultaneously; Data Acceleration technology that classifies and distributes similar traffic types; and Path Optimization technology that automatically delivers data traffic to Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) platform.

“The fundamental structure of 5G SA is built on a completely new configuration, successfully delivering the most optimized 5G service to customers and enterprises across numerous industries,” said Jaeho Jeon, Executive Vice President and Head of R&D, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “Maintaining Korea’s leadership in network innovations through continuous investments in next-generation technologies is important to Samsung and SK Telecom, and the companies will continue to collaborate on developing and commercializing 5G SA.”

“Along with the initial phase of NSA rollout, we have been continuously focusing on researching and developing the SA technology in order to provide customers a differentiated service quality with innovative products, which will be launched in the first half of next year,” said Park Jin-hyo, Chief Technology Officer and Head of ICT R&D Center at SK Telecom. “By strengthening bilateral collaboration with Samsung, SK Telecom will drive and lead highly innovative 5G technologies and solutions.”

Once 5G SA is commercialized, data processing efficient will be improved by threefold, allowing efficient control for supporting massive data traffic. Moreover, 5G SA system is highly optimized for emerging next generation services such as Autonomous driving, Smart Factory, Smart Farm, and AR/VR.

For the past five years, the two companies have been collaborating on LTE and 5G development, which ultimately led to this successful 5G SA Core interoperability test. Some of other accomplishments include the commercialization of Virtualized LTE Core and Packet Optimization system; and they have completed the development of 3GPP Rel. 15 based SA Core in July last year, and successfully launched 5G NSA commercial service in April this year.

About SK Telecom

SK Telecom is the largest mobile operator in Korea with nearly 50 percent of the market share. As the pioneer of all generations of mobile networks, the company has launched the fifth generation (5G) network on December 1, 2018. The company is not only leading innovations in the field of mobile network, but is also creating unprecedented value in areas such as media, security and commerce. In the Fourth Industrial Revolution, SK Telecom will inspire the world, building a future beyond expectations.

Building on its strength in mobile services, the company is also creating unprecedented value in diverse ICT-related markets including media, security and commerce.

For more information, please contact skt_press@sk.com or sktelecom@bm.com

A Strong Foundation Lays the Groundwork for Convenient 5G Technology

Unveiled at the event was a chipset supporting 28 GHz, a 5G spectrum, home devices, base stations and network core equipment. Samsung’s 5G devices, when installed in homes or enterprises, will automatically be recognized by 5G base stations and provided with ultra-fast broadband service of up to 1Gbps, while the network core equipment is responsible for resource management and real-time data traffic distribution.

Central to the initial phase of 5G is the notion of an ecosystem – an ecosystem that covers manufacturers of chipsets, devices and other equipment. Samsung stands out as a key player in the industry with end-to-end solutions that deal with each aspect of this 5G network cycle, enabling early 5G commercialization and stable service quality. This is precisely why Verizon, the largest mobile network operator in the U.S. and an industry leader when it comes to 5G commercialization, has selected Samsung as its vendor.

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“What it means for a single company to be able to provide chips, devices and equipment is that it can optimize 5G and bring out the best of this new exciting technology all by itself,” said Tim Baxter, President of Samsung Electronics America. “Beginning this year, we plan on peeling off the layers, one by one, to show how a connected world built by a full 5G commercial product lineup will unfold before our eyes.”

Six Years of R&D Finally Coming to Fruition

Samsung has demonstrated its technological expertise throughout the evolution of communications – from 2G to 3G and 4G. Indeed, the company was the first to commercialize CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access) during the 2G era. Samsung was also at the forefront of 4G LTE (Long-Term Evolution) innovation as a key vendor in technologically advanced markets such as the US, Japan, Korea and the UK. Its business has now expanded into rapidly developing India, where Samsung is the sole vendor of the country’s 4G LTE nationwide network.

Samsung has been convinced of the potential that the millimeter wave spectrum holds since 2012, and has been investing in 5G R&D ever since. These efforts have resulted in the successful development of beamforming technology that supports directional signal transmission or reception. Based on this achievement, a technology that enables transmission speeds of over 1Gbps and is capable of covering distances of up to 2 kilometers using a 28 GHz band was developed and demonstrated in May of 2013.

In 2014, a seamless data transmission speed of 1.2Gpbs was achieved during a demonstration held in a vehicle moving at 100 km/h. It was the time that 5G technology had reached Gbps-level speed in a mobile environment. When the vehicle was stationary, the speeds reached 7.5Gbps, which was another new record.

That was directly followed by the first successful demonstration of 5G handover technology, which has allowed Samsung to further accelerate 5G’s commercialization. Handover is regarded as a critical technology for networks as it signifies seamless coverage for smart devices when a user moves between base stations. In March of 2016, Samsung became the first in the industry to successfully accomplish a multi-cell handover demonstration by achieving Gbps-level connectivity while a vehicle moved across three 5G base stations at 25 km/h.

In September of 2017, Samsung demonstrated seamless connectivity with a vehicle traveling at over 200 km/h, as well as a successful handover with a vehicle moving at 192 km/h. These remarkable achievements proved that the application of 5G on high-speed trains was a feasible concept.

Around this time, Samsung also successfully proved the capabilities of a 4G-5G intertwined network that binds together three spectrums by linking a 4G LTE network that utilizes the 2.6 GHz band with a 5G network that uses the 28 GHz and 3.5 GHz bands. Interworking between different-generation networks is recognized in the industry as a prerequisite for fostering 5G commercialization.

Accelerating the 5G Era with Operators Worldwide

By nature, telecommunications service can only begin once an operator has acquired the rights to use a particular spectrum from its government and established infrastructure with its vendor. It is absolutely crucial that the service allows multiple users to simultaneously enjoy seamless connection anywhere and anytime. 5G commercialization is no exception to this rule; cooperation between operators, equipment vendors and device manufacturers is a must.

Samsung has been focusing on intensifying its technical and business bonds with operators in markets with advanced 5G adoption such as Korea, the US and Japan. The US is the first country to have acquired the 28 GHz spectrum, and it plans on launching FWA (fixed wireless access) service using 5G technology in the second half of this year. Samsung is in the midst of carrying out 5G trial services in key US cities together with Verizon and has already deployed 5G networks in seven of the eleven cities – Sacramento included – where Verizon provides its service. To add to the list are the 5G trials being carried out in Indiana with AT&T, as well as another with T-Mobile.

Korea is quickly gaining recognition as a testbed for the latest technologies. In September of 2017, together with the Korean telecommunications operator SK Telecom, Samsung successfully demonstrated, for the first time ever, how 4G and 5G networks can interwork with one another.

Japan has targeted the year 2020 for 5G commercialization, to coincide with a large-scale sporting event that will be held in Tokyo. Together with the country’s leading operator, NTT DOCOMO, Samsung successfully demonstrated the 5G technology in a vehicle traveling at high speed in November of 2016. With KDDI, another key operator in Japan, Samsung conducted a 5G demonstration on a Tokyo highway in February of last year. In December of the same year, the joint efforts extended into a 5G test held on a high-speed train.

Also collaborating with Samsung to accelerate 5G commercialization is the French operator Orange. Together with Korea Telecom and Verizon, Samsung has also established the specifications required for 5G trial services in Korea, as well as commercial FWA service in the U.S.

“Samsung has always been an active promoter of international cooperation with its 5G total solutions at the root,” said Wonil Roh, Vice President and Head of the Technology Strategy Group, Networks Business, Samsung Electronics. “These experiences are a validation of why operators worldwide find Samsung to be the most ideal partner for 5G network establishment.”