SK Telecom to set up 5G JV with Deutsche Telekom, invest in DTCP

[Photo provided by SK Telecom Co.]

South Korea’s SK Telecom Co. and Germany’s Deutsche Telekom AG will set up a joint venture that will focus on development of 5G core technologies and collaborate on nurturing promising startups through investment.

The leading Korean mobile carrier said Tuesday that it has agreed with the top German telecommunications company to set up a 5G tech R&D joint venture by the end of this year. The joint venture will focus on developing core 5G-related technologies, such as MPEG Media Transport (MMT), in-building 5G relay repeater, and multipath user datagram protocol (UDP).

Other details such as the size of stakes to be owned by each company were not disclosed.

The agreement was announced a day after the two companies held a town hall meeting in Seoul, which was attended by SK Telecom CEO Park Jung-ho, Deutsche Telekom Chairman Timotheus Hottges and some 100 senior executives of the two telcos, to discuss strategies on improving 5G technology and accessibility.

With the JV, the two companies aim to take the lead in the key 5G application markets, such as cloud gaming, augmented and virtual reality services.

SK Telecom has also decided to invest $30 million in a $350 million fund run by the German counterpart’s investment affiliate Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners (DTCP) in hopes of finding new growth engines by supporting next unicorn startups in the information communication technology industry. Currently, DTCP is readying to open an office in Seoul.

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