U+ LTE network operation know-how and
Aiming for synergy in POSCO cell design technology
5G radio waves to be launched in Seoul and other areas starting December 1st.
LG Uplus announced on the 4th that it will begin full-scale work to provide 5G services, including establishing a strategy to provide stable services through optimal cell design and to build a 5G ecosystem connecting large, medium, and small businesses.

LG U+ plans to begin launching 5G radio waves on December 1st, focusing on Seoul, the metropolitan area, and some metropolitan cities, and launch services via smartphones after March of next year.


Providing the best 5G service with optimal cell design.
To ensure stable 5G network quality, LG U+ has joined hands with Forsk, a French company specializing in radio design programs.

Global telecommunications companies such as Verizon, Vodafone, AT&T, Sprint, SoftBank, China Mobile, China Telecom, and Vodafone India, as well as equipment manufacturers such as Samsung, Nokia, Huawei, and ZTE, and Qualcomm, are using Forsk's cell design program, Atoll, with over 500 companies in 140 countries.

The call area where the base station's signal is transmitted to each antenna unit is called a cell, and the location and antenna of 5G equipment are important to provide high call quality. The task of selecting the direction angle is called cell design.

LG U+ has combined its network operation know-how, gained from building and operating the world's first nationwide LTE network in just six months, with its cell design program, Aitol, to create the most optimized 5G cell design.

5G uses beamforming technology, making radio wave prediction more challenging than 4G. Therefore, ray tracing techniques have been applied to improve accuracy. Ray tracing tracks the path of radio waves and calculates and predicts their reflection, refraction, and diffraction, taking into account the height, position, and shape of buildings. This allows for precise cell design.

Specifically, LG U+ applied four unique radio models tailored to the specific characteristics of the region where the equipment is located, enhancing the accuracy of cell design. This enabled rapid network deployment, reduced construction costs through minimal work, eliminated regional differences in call quality, and accelerated coverage expansion.

After about a year of preparation since October of last year, LG U+ recently completed the first cell design for the metropolitan area and metropolitan cities including Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and Incheon.


Building a 5G ecosystem to protect and foster small and medium-sized enterprises.
LG Uplus has established a strategy to build a 5G ecosystem, including ▲operating an open lab, ▲expanding industry-academia-research cooperation, and ▲nurturing small and medium-sized equipment companies, to protect and foster domestic small and medium-sized telecommunications equipment companies.

LG U+ will open a 5G open lab next year to help developers of new devices and apps more easily develop and commercialize them. For startups, it is not easy to set up a separate testing space, and it is difficult to secure an environment for testing even after developing an app. Therefore, testing spaces similar to a real-world environment are provided.

We are also strengthening industry-academia-research collaboration to expand the 5G domain and ecosystem through the development of advanced services. This year, LG U+ secured 5G-based advanced technologies through industry-academia-research projects, including ultra-multi-point holograms, ultra-high-definition VR, real-time video streaming and remote control services, and remote control of drones and RC cars. We also plan to identify and jointly develop research projects related to autonomous driving with Hanyang University.

To help domestic small and medium-sized telecommunications equipment companies with technological prowess focus on developing 5G technology and equipment, LG Uplus will provide development funding and prioritize the adoption of such equipment. To ensure that equipment from domestic SMEs is included from the outset of 5G equipment deployment, LG Uplus sent out Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for customer information and policy management equipment, as well as backhaul equipment connecting the core network and base stations. Furthermore, the company is providing KRW 10 billion in funding to strategic partners developing 5G equipment and providing interest-free loans to them.

“The countdown to the opening of the 5G era has begun, with the first radio wave launch just around the corner,” said Choi Joo-sik, Vice President and Head of the 5G Promotion Team at LG Uplus. “We will further accelerate network construction, service development, and revitalization of the ecosystem to ensure that 5G becomes the driving force of the 4th Industrial Revolution by providing tangible benefits to customers and maximizing industrial efficiency.”