SK Telecom is expanding its LTE-Advanced commercial service network, via its local entity Ericsson-LG, to downtown areas of 84 cities nationwide, including the entire Seoul metropolitan area and six other major cities. The carrier launched its commercial LTE-Advanced service earlier this summer, offering up to 150Mbps mobile broadband speeds, twice that of LTE. The initial launch included the entire Seoul area, the downtowns of 42 cities in Gyeonggi-do and Chungcheong-do provinces, and 103 campus towns.
The carrier plans to deploy 32,000 LTE-Advanced base stations by the end of the year, which will cover 84 cities nationwide and approximately 300 college campuses.
Ericsson confirmed its major role in the upgrade, providing the software for Carrier Aggregation and multi-carrier technology for the B5 (850MHz) and B3 (1.8GHz) bands in South Korea’s southeastern regions, where Ericsson partnered with SK Telecom for the LTE network deployment and commercial service launch in 2011.
Jan Signell, Head of Region North East Asia, Ericsson, says: “We are proud to power SK Telecom’s LTE-Advanced network, which now covers major areas of the nation. SK Telecom will be able to offer its users broader network coverage and an enhanced mobile broadband experience, ensuring continued loyalty among its customers and market leadership. Ericsson will keep collaborating with SK Telecom to exceed increasing user expectations in South Korea.”
