Samsung and SK Telecom show 5G readiness ahead of December launch

SK Telecom and Samsung are picking up the pace for the deployment of 5G equipment as the carrier aims to launch mobile dongles for its commercial 5G network as early as Decemeber this year.

December launch will be a global first

The test is what's referred in the industry as a first call. It's not a phone call, mind you. It's the final procedure of testing data transfer in conditions that are equivalent to a real 5G environment.

Success is determined by connections among the base station, exchanger and mobile devices. The synchronization of equipment parts for communication is crucial as well. This test was carried out by using the 100-megahertz bandwidth in the 3.5-gigahertz frequency spectrum, which is fully compliant with the 5G standards set by 3GPP.

This test is significant as it used 5G equipment that is ready to be deployed. It's the equipment that SK Telecom will be using to power jts commercial 5G network. The test has shown that it's ready for the real world.

“SKT will spend the next few months on maximizing the quality of upcoming services,” said the company's CTO Park Jin-hyo. Samsung has said that the commercial 5G service launch this December will mark a global first. The company is also gearing up to launch 5G compatible smartphones from next year.