SK Telecom announced on Sunday that it agreed with German Deutsche Telekom to expand 5G and non-face-to-face platform technologies. The major South Korean mobile carrier said that the partnership would prepare both companies for a new upcoming global trend triggered by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The spread of the SARS-CoV-2 disease led to countermeasures such as social distancing and work-at-home schemes. Countries hit by the coronavirus outbreak implemented actions to reduce the risk of infection in communities. Such trends drove the increase of popularity of content and delivery services with companies utilizing “untact” marketing to draw customers.
In compliance with social distancing measures, SKT and Deutsche Telekom conducted their meeting last Wednesday in a video conference attended by around 20 executive members from the two companies. Both companies agreed to develop non-face-to-face platforms and expand their collaboration on 5G technologies by investing in 5G companies.
Strengthened Ties
Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners (DTCP) would handle the investments they see as beneficial to their expansion. DTCP, a venture capital firm with an established office in Seoul, nurtures promising ICT firms located across Asia.
SK Telecom said that it would send a team of engineers to Germany to share its expertise in managing 5G network infrastructure and measures on handling heavy traffic loads on communication networks.
SKT added that it would share its measures against COVID-19, such as online recruitment procedures and remote work solutions.
The two telecom companies also decided to extend the strengthen their collaboration in online education, teleworking, virtual and augmented reality services, artificial intelligence technologies, and cloud-delivered solutions, and mobile edge computing (MEC), to prepare for the post-coronavirus era.
In 2018, SKT invested in MobiledgeX to accelerate the commercialization of 5G network as key technology for the next-generation industries. MobiledgeX is an independent edge computing company created by Deutsche Telekom.
Mobile edge computing (MEC) provides real-time high-speed data processing through computing infrastructures located near data sources. 5G-powered MEC technologies allow for IT service environments and cloud computing capabilities at cellular networks.
