SK Telecom plans to upgrade the T-map, the nation’s biggest mobile navigation with a subscription membership of 10 million, into one with definition 10 times higher than the current one. The telecom service provider will add a service in which a preceding car recognizing the occurrence of a traffic accident can inform it to the following cars operating on the T-map. This move is part of SK Telecom’s scheme to spearhead the building of a connected car network to brace for the advent of a self-driving car era.
SK Telecom President Park Jung-ho revealed this plan at a meeting of reporters on the sideline of the Mobile World Congress (WMC) 2017 in Barcelona, Spain, on Feb. 28. “Mechanical errors are quite lower than human errors, so the advent of a self-driving ear is inevitable, and we can do it more than any other when it comes to self-driving car,” he said. Park said he discussed on the matter with Chairman Jen-Hsun Huang of the graphics processor company Nvidia on the sideline of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2017 in Las Vegas in January. The T-map will have an additional function of recognizing a traffic accident via a communication chips produced by QualComm ahead of an intelligent road network, he said.
President Park set media, artificial intelligence and IoT as the company’s three future growth engines. He stressed the importance of mobile media surpassing the LTE era, saying that content can evolve into a commerce platform in which products can be purchased while watching dramas.
SK Telecom has an excellent Korean sound recognition technology, saying that the A.I. segment is not a winner-gets-all business in which numerous data tweaks are required according to each country, Park said. President Park said Korea’s biggest service provider will complete the test-operating of the 5G communication this year to advance the commercialization of the upcoming technology by 2019.
SK Telecom and Nokia Sign Cooperation Agreement for Quantum
SK Telecom has entered into an agreement with Nokia to cooperate in the quantum cryptography business, the company said on Feb. 28.
Under the agreement, SK Telecom and Nokia will conduct joint research and development activities to achieve interworking between SK Telecom’s Quantum Key Distribution System (QKD) and Nokia’s next-generation optical transport system by the second half of this year.
SK Telecom and Nokia have been working together closely from 2016 for interoperation of SK Telecom’s quantum technologies with Nokia’s optical transport system. The first prototype of this collaboration, also known as Quantum Transport System, is being demonstrated at Nokia’s booth (Hall 3, 3A10) during the 2017 GSMA Mobile World Congress.
The quantum cryptography communication is known as the most secure form of communication encryption that cannot be broken with any existing hacking technology. Quantum cryptography is expected to replace the existing security solutions in all areas at risk of data hacking, including national defense, finance, autonomous vehicle and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Under the agreement, the two companies will also cooperate in the area of Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG), a technology necessary for applying quantum cryptography technologies to IoT devices.
SK Telecom’s QRNG is the world’s smallest 5x5mm CMOS Image Sensor (CIS) based all-in-one, single silicon (ASIC) providing non-deterministic true random numbers on demand from quantum-shot noise. SK Telecom plans to tape out engineering samples of QRNG chip (ASIC) in the second quarter of 2017 and commercial launch is planned by the year end. SK Telecom envisions using QRNG for Internet of “secure” Things (IoT).
“Since opening Quantum Tech Lab in 2011, SK Telecom has been making constant efforts to develop quantum cryptography technologies,” said Park Jung-ho, CEO and President of SK Telecom. “Based on the cooperation with Nokia, SK Telecom will create a new paradigm and ecosystem in the field of ICT.” “With SK Telecom’s quantum cryptography technologies, we have secured the basis for building the most secure network security solution,” said Rajeev Suri, CEO of Nokia. “We will respond proactively to rapidly growing demands of the cyber security market with these technologies and solutions.”
