Korean operator SK Telecom and compatriot CE giant Samsung have announced what they say is the successful completion of the first interoperability assessment between 5G standalone (SA) core and other commercial network systems over a 5G network.
The 5G SA core, jointly developed by SK Telecom and Samsung, supports technologies including network slicing and function modularisation 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.
The 5G SA system is highly optimised for emerging next generation services such as AR/VR and broadcast video.
Interoperability was achieved by 5G SA core technologies including data parallel processing for simultaneous QoS and transmission control; data acceleration technology that classifies and distributes similar traffic types; and path optimisation technology that automatically delivers data traffic to mobile edge computing (MEC) platform.
The successful trail is being acclaimed as bringing the two companies one step closer to 5G SA commercialisation. “Along with the initial phase of NSA rollout, SK Telecom has 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,” explained Park Jin-hyo, chief technology officer and head of the ICT R&D centre at SK Telecom. “By strengthening bilateral collaboration with Samsung, SK Telecom will drive and lead highly innovative 5G technologies and solutions.”
“The fundamental structure of 5G SA is built on a completely new configuration, successfully delivering the most optimised 5G service to customers and enterprises across numerous industries,” added 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 commercialising 5G SA.”