Parent company of SK Telecom to collaborate with Ericsson for research in South Korea
Ericsson has entered into a collaborative agreement for ICT research with South Korea’s SK Holdings, which is the parent company of SK Telecom.
The pair have stated they will work together initially on the Internet of Things (IoT) platforms, emerging ICT services and convergence security solutions.
Signed on 12 August by Hans Vestberg, president and CEO, Ericsson, and Park Jung-Ho, CEO, SK Holdings, the memorandum of understanding (MoU) will also cover emerging ICT services and convergence security solutions.
Under the terms of the MoU, Ericsson and SK Holdings C&C will jointly develop specialised IoT platforms for industry sectors including health care and transportation. This will utilise Ericsson’s experience in delivering IoT projects, including Volvo Cars’ Connected Vehicle Cloud and connected container-tracking systems for shipping company, Maersk Line, Ericsson said.
Also, the companies will explore opportunities relating to emerging ICT services, such as global disaster recovery and IoT authentication in the Asia Pacific area.
Additionally, the MoU covers collaboration in the field of convergence security solutions, which are increasingly critical components in industry-grade IoT ecosystems, the companies claimed. Ericsson said it will combine its network security technology with the data security capabilities of SK Holdings Infosec unit for convergence security services for global customers.
Park commented the agreement will allow SK Holdings to “…enhance ICT competitiveness and strengthen our presence in global markets by forging partnerships with leading global companies in the areas of IoT, cloud networks and Big Data”. He added that, “We will create a strong collaborative ecosystem with global ICT and solution companies for our global target markets and target industries.”
Meanwhile, in July ZTE announced it had signed a strategic cooperation agreement with KT Telecom for research and the commercialisation of 5G technology. Under the MoU ZTE and KT will launch 5G testbed construction in Seoul, and jointly develop, present, and design the future 5G network architecture based on the testbed. The partnership between ZTE and KT will help advance 5G standardisation and the global development of the industry ecosystem, they said.
