Development of 5G SA wireless standard specifications completed
Verification of NSA-standard commercial-grade equipment

KT announced on the 14th that it participated in the 80th Wireless General Assembly of 3GPP (an international cooperation organization for mobile telecommunications standardization) held in La Jolla, USA for four days from the 11th to the 14th, contributed to the completion of 5G standards, and cooperated with global operators for 5G commercialization.

At the recent Wireless General Assembly, KT announced the final version of the 28 GHz frequency band Technical Report (TR), which comprehensively covers NSA (Non-Stand Alone) and SA (Stand Alone) frequency technologies. This report signifies that the 28 GHz band, one of the domestic 5G frequency bands, has been officially recognized as the world's first 5G ultra-high frequency standard band.
KT has proactively led the standardization of the 28 GHz band since the initial discussion stage of the 3GPP 5G research project. The completion of the 28 GHz standard is significant in that it demonstrates KT's leading role in developing the standard for a 5G frequency band to be used in common by South Korean mobile carriers and contributes to completing the global 5G technology ecosystem.

In particular, at the meeting, KT proposed a standard for interoperability technology between 3.5 GHz and 28 GHz, which are South Korea's commercial 5G frequencies, representing South Korean operators, and mentioned the need for early commercialization of the technology. This is a technology that enables the efficient installation of 5G base stations compared to frequency aggregation technology, and it will contribute to South Korea being the first in the world to introduce 5G.

KT completed the 5G SA (Standalone) standard specifications together with global operators at this Wireless General Assembly. The newly completed SA (Standalone) standard is a standard for independently connecting the 5G core network and the 5G wireless network, and is a pure 5G technology developed to handle everything from fixed services to mobility management using the 5G wireless network without an LTE network.

In the process of preparing the world's first 5G service showcased at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, KT developed the 'PyeongChang 5G Standard,' which includes both NSA and SA technologies, and implemented 5G services based on it. In particular, KT successfully provided seamless 5G services based on SA technology through optimized network design and operation, even in areas requiring high-speed mobility (handover) between 5G cells, such as 5G autonomous driving courses for 5G connected buses.

Last December, KT completed the development of the 5G 'NSA (Non-Standalone)' standard, which links 5G and LTE networks, together with 3GPP global members, and is proceeding without setbacks with preparations for the commercialization of 5G based on the NSA standard.

The NSA standard is a technical specification that enables the provision of 5G services by linking 5G and LTE networks, and the commercialization of 5G, expected in 2019, is projected to involve network construction and services based on the NSA standard.

KT sent out a 5G Request for Proposal (RFP) to global manufacturers early this year and has been accelerating preparations for 5G commercialization since June by conducting technical verification of commercial-grade 5G equipment based on NSA specifications developed together with major manufacturers.

"KT possesses world-class technological capabilities across the entire spectrum of 5G technology, including commercial technology in addition to technical standards," said Seo Chang-seok, Executive Vice President and Head of KT's Network Strategy Division. "Based on these 5G technological capabilities, KT plans to launch the world's first commercial 5G service in March 2019."