The deal forms part of the country’s nationwide mobile network roll-out to support the development of the internet of things (IoT).
The two South Korean firms agreed to partner for 5G research in November last year and are now adding NFV and IoT to their focus, with the latter expected to be worth $20 trillion by 2020, according industry experts.
“We are delighted to collaborate with Samsung on our NFV solution for SK Telecom’s IoT services,” said Jong-bong Lee, EVP and head of network division at SK Telecom.
“SK Telecom is preparing for the IoT era through active business collaboration. Through the application of virtualised network technologies, we are confident that we can deliver a truly consistent and innovative network as well as superior service quality.”
NFV has grown as a feasible means for operators to optimise control of their networks, and by utilising it here, IoT-originated data of varying sizes is able to be managed with greater network efficiency.
“NFV is one of the core technologies of next-generation mobile networks and will play a critical role in helping telecoms operators in terms of network deployment, management and operation as well as service efficiency and rapid scalability,” said Youngky Kim, president and head of networks business at Samsung.
