14 DAY TRIAL // Wireless services provider SK Telecom, the largest carrier in Korea in terms of subscribers, has just announced plans to greatly increase its broadband capacity and data transfer speeds it offers to its customers through the deployment of a LTE (Long Term Evolution) in July 2011.
According to the mobile phone carrier, the new network enhancement should translate into a tripled broadband capacity, which would be accompanied by five times faster data download and seven times faster upload speeds.
The wireless operator also announced that it chose Nokia Siemens Networks for the provision of Long Term Evolution (LTE) infrastructure on its Flexi Multiradio Base Stations and NetAct network management system, as well as for implementation and care services.
“LTE stands for Long Term Evolution, a radio technology that is an evolution from existing 3G services, bringing higher mobile broadband data speeds and faster response times,” the carrier explains.
SK Telecom plans on making the LTE services available for its customers in Seoul in July 2011, and should expand the availability of its LTE network to other metropolitan areas before the end of the next year. One year later, it should achieve nationwide coverage.
According to the agreement between the two, Nokia Siemens Networks will deliver its Flexi Multiradio Base Station, which is expected to go along very well with SK Telecom’s advanced Smart Cloud Access Network (SCAN) concept.
“SK Telecom has aggressive plans to deploy LTE in Korea. We will draw on our expertise in LTE as well as the experience gained from several LTE trials and implementations to help the operator put these into action,” said Ricky Corker, head, APAC region at Nokia Siemens Networks.
“With our portfolio of world-class products, software and services, we aim to ensure a smooth and timely launch of LTE services in the country.
Moreover, the wireless carrier also announced that Nokia Siemens Networks will deliver its NetAct system, which is aimed at enabling the efficient monitoring, management and optimization of SK Telecom’s network.
The company will also come up with the entire set of hardware and software maintenance services, and should also offer strong local support, so that the best network availability is ensured.