Qualcomm Technologies, LG Uplus and LG Electronics have deployed South Korea’s first 5G mm-wave network using a commercial 5G smartphone at the Kumoh National Institute of Technology (KIT).

The network will enable innovative services for KIT employees, professors and students, showcasing the technology’s ability to power a smart campus model to transform education. This milestone also represents a step towards the commercialisation of 5G mm-wave in South Korea, which is expected to ramp in 2021.

These smart campus services will be accessible through the LG Uplus 28GHz 5G mm-wave network on a commercial smartphone from LG Electronics, which is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 mobile platform with the Snapdragon X55 5G modem-RF system.

“We are proud of this significant 5G milestone achieved with LG Uplus and LG, which is instrumental in unlocking the full potential of 5G and its ability to deliver exciting new experiences for consumers, businesses and the government in South Korea,” said Durga Malladi, senior vice president at Qualcomm Technologies. “Our long-standing collaboration with these companies demonstrates how mobile industry leaders are working together to drive the commercialisation of 5G mm-wave globally, and our dedication to being at the forefront of wireless innovation and technology.”

The deployment of 5G mm-wave is critical to unleashing the full potential of 5G and addressing the increase in mobile data demand. The technology will allow operators such as LG Uplus to take advantage of vast spectrum resources in high spectrum bands, enabling them to deliver more easily multi-gigabit cellular speeds, low latency connectivity and cost-effective network capacity to meet the increasing demand for mobile data from enterprises, consumers and government organisations.

Qualcomm and LG Uplus are collaborating closely to address investment efficiency and ecosystem developments to realise the benefits of 5G mm-wave in South Korea. This milestone also shows the benefits of the technology as it further enables smart campuses, indoor enterprises, indoor and outdoor venues, transportation hubs, fixed wireless access devices, and industrial IoT.

“At LG Uplus, we are continuing to prioritise our contributions to the national development of 5G,” said Weonseok Cho, senior vice president of LG Uplus. “Through this collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies and LG, we were able to see the potential of 5G mm-wave and we will continue the collaboration to overcome challenges to realise the full benefits of 5G.”

Setting the foundation for a smart campus, this deployment at the KIT demonstrates 5G mm-wave’s potential to enable innovative services and technologies that will transform education for campus employees, professors and students. For example, the deployment will allow for the use of a virtual desktop environment, so the KIT community can work securely from a 5G mm-wave smartphone or laptop anytime, anywhere on campus.

The KIT also plans to use 5G technology to establish high-quality remote classes with two-way communications between students and professors. This will facilitate synergies in research and development among the industry and academic groups, while supporting campus safety with connected artificial intelligence-powered cameras.