SK Telecom And Seoul Government To Install 5G ADAS On Buses And Cabs

SK Telecom and Seoul metropolitan government will install 5G-enabled Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) on buses and cabs to develop a real-time HD map for use in autonomous vehicles.

South Korea's largest mobile carrier will install the systems on 1,700 vehicles -- 1,600 buses and 100 cabs -- by the second half of the year that will driven around the country's capital.

The cars will cover around 122 kilometres of major roads and will be used to develop a real-time updated HD map, they said.

They also have plans to eventually expand the coverage of ADAS to 5,000 vehicles so that it can cover the entire city and not just major roads.

In January, SK Telecom and the Seoul government had agreed to build a "cooperative-intelligent transport system", with this latest development being the first phase of that project.

The ADAS installed on the vehicles will leverage the country's 5G networks in order to provide high speed and connectivity for handsets and sensors around the city.

Rival telco LG Uplus has also commenced autonomous vehicle testing in Seoul.

Since South Korea's 5G network was commercialised in April, over 260,000 people have signed up to use the network. Of that amount, KT had secured 100,000 5G subscribers, putting it ahead of SK Telecom and LG Uplus in the race to gain 5G subscribers. 

Related Coverage

SK Telecom to apply 5G for military training

SK Telecom and the Korea Military Academy will develop 5G-based training programs for soldiers, such as VR shooting simulations akin to those seen in the movie Ready Player One.

SK Telecom signs deals for 5G hospitals, smart cities, self-driving infrastructure

SK Telecom has signed a series of MOUs to partner on smart cities, smart hospitals, smart offices, and self-driving infrastructure backed by its 5G mobile network in Korea.

SK Telecom and Deutsche Telekom to collaborate on blockchain ID

The two telcos will collaborate to create a "borderless" blockchain ID.

SK Telecom and KT in VR game push for 5G

South Korean mobile carriers SK Telecom and KT seem to believe virtual reality (VR) games will be a big thing for 5G -- and both plan to showcase their offerings at Mobile World Congress.

Why 5G requires new antenna designs to deliver faster speeds (TechRepublic)

Traditional antennas are passive devices that use metal rods, capacitors, and conductors. Active antennas and MIMO are key to differentiating 5G from previous wireless networks.