Photo: Ligado

Korea Telecom (KT), one of the largest telcos in Asia, has concluded a successful 5G NTN (non-terrestrial network) trial that brings satellite more into the mainstream in South Korea and lays the groundwork for KT to expand coverage across the country. It has worked with KT SAT to successfully integrate terrestrial 5G networks with the KOREASAT 6 satellite in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) to establish 5G NTN. Korea Telecom announced this breakthrough, Sept. 30.

The test was conducted at KT SAT’s Geumsan Satellite Center in collaboration with KT, KT SAT, Rohde & Schwarz Korea, and Viavi Solutions Korea. 5G NTN is a standard technology that Korea Telecom said  expands the scope of 5G services by utilizing satellites instead of ground-based base stations.

“This technology verification of 5G NTN through GEO satellites will not only allow us to explore the possibility of low-orbit 5G NTN services in the short term, but also expect that in the long term, the broadband, hyper-connectivity, and low-latency services pursued in 6G will be possible through NTN technology,” Seo Beom-seok, CEO of Viavi Solutions Korea, said in a statement.