The Urban Air Mobility (UAM) business is attracting attention from various industrial sectors, including aviation, automotive, and energy, led by mobile carriers.

UAM is an air mobility service based on electric-powered aircraft that is an eco-friendly mode of transportation capable of vertical take-off and landing without runways in urban areas and can be integrated with various ground transportation methods.

As UAM is a culmination of cutting-edge technology, various companies, including mobile carriers, are continuously making development efforts in areas such as airframes, communications, security, noise, batteries, and safety to commercialize UAM.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's 'K-UAM GC' is a demonstration program that integrates the operation of aircraft safety and traffic management function tests with the goal of domestic commercialization of UAM by 2025.

In the first phase of the project, after the participant selection process this year, demonstration flights in open areas will begin next year to verify the infrastructure and relay platform for the operation of UAM.

On the 11th, LG Uplus, Kakao Mobility, GSIt was announced that it has formed a consortium with Caltex, Jeju Air, Pablo Air, and Vertical Aerospace to participate in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Korean Urban Air Mobility Grand Challenge (K-UAM GC) demonstration project.

It was reported that the respective roles include building a vertiport solution based on 'Kakao T' (Kakao Mobility), establishing UAM boarding sites utilizing gas station networks (GS Caltex), providing flight services (Jeju Air), and building an integrated UAM flight control system (Pablo Air).

Meanwhile, SK Telecom (CEO Yoo Young-sang) participated in MWC 22 last February and expanded global cooperation by mentioning Urban Air Mobility (UAM) technology services as a major business leading future ICT.

In addition, SKT signed a business agreement with Korea Airports Corporation, Hanwha Systems, Korea Transport Institute, and Korea Meteorological Industry & Technology Institute to jointly participate in the K-UAM Grand Challenge organized by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and to commercialize routes by 2025.

5G and subsequent 6G communication, considered essential for UAM, transmit traffic information between the aircraft and the ground for safe and efficient operation, and support passengers' smartphone usage (enabling effective use of next-generation 5G communication with low latency in the sky). Additionally, a mobility platform connecting destinations and UAM boarding areas is required.

According to an SKT official, SKT's partner, Hanwha Systems, is jointly developing an airframe with high levels of safety and reliability with U.S.-based Overair, and T Map is capable of identifying key locations, such as station areas, within urban centers. Korea Airports Corporation stated that it is possible to identify the characteristics of hubs in 14 regions nationwide, and that it will be possible to establish a customer-centric transportation system using big data from the Korea Transport Institute.

In addition, SKT announced that it plans to lead K-UAM by incorporating its experience demonstrating an 'air taxi,' which holds the record for the longest flight of an eVTOL, following an exclusive agreement signed last February with Joby Aviation, a UAM aircraft manufacturer headquartered in the United States.

An SKT official stated, “The most important aspect of UAM is securing stable aircraft,” adding, “SKT is moving ahead as a rapidly leading company through official collaboration with excellent global partners in the U.S. that are pioneering the UAM business.”

He also stated, “The UAM business is currently lacking in terms of policy and technology, and we are at the stage where we are discussing the start of building communication networks,” adding, “To achieve domestic commercialization, we plan to become a UAM tour operator for public and tourism purposes by 2025, simultaneously with government demonstrations.”