KT to Offer 5G Mobile Service Next Year

Telecom giant KT on Thursday said that it will launch the world's first fifth-generation mobile network service early next year after its successful trial during the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang last month.

"Based on our experience in providing the 5G network service on a trial basis in Pyeongchang, we will work to commercialize it for the first time in the world in March 2019," Oh Seong-mok, president of KT's network division, said at a press event in Seoul. 

KT plans to establish a nationwide network at a cost of more than W2 trillion to provide the 5G service in 82 cities across the nation (US$1=W1,076).

It will set up an open research center by the second quarter of this year so that technology businesses working on augmented reality, virtual reality, self-driving cars and drones can use it to test their products.

"We are in talks with domestic and foreign carmakers to jointly develop self-driving cars," a company staffer said.

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