The World's Largest 5G Content Alliance... Top 3 Carriers from the US, France, and Taiwan Join

Expansion to 7 Regions and 10 Operators
LG Uplus Appointed as Inaugural Chair
Preparing for Second Project

LG Uplus announced on the 10th that Verizon in the United States, Orange in France, and Tsinghua Telecom in Taiwan have joined the global 5G content alliance 'XR Alliance.' The photo shows Yoonho Choi, Executive Director of 5G Service Business at LG Uplus, having a video conference with the new member companies. Photo by LG Uplus

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] The XR Alliance is emerging as the world's largest 5G content consortium following its status as the world's first.

The global 5G content consortium, 'XR Content Telco Alliance (XR Alliance),' chaired by LG Uplus, announced on the 10th that Verizon from the United States, Orange from France, and Tsinghua Telecom from Taiwan have newly joined. This increases the participating companies from 7 operators in 6 regions to 10 operators in 7 regions.

Previously, the alliance included semiconductor company Qualcomm Technologies from the U.S., telecom operators Bell Canada from Canada, KDDI from Japan, China Telecom from China, immersive content producers Felix & Paul Studios from Canada and France, and Atlas V from France, totaling 7 operators in 6 regions.

The XR Alliance, launched in September last year, is the world's first 5G content consortium. It unites leading companies from each country to secure competitiveness in the extended reality (eXtended Reality) field, which encompasses virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and future emerging technologies, regarded as core content in the 5G era, and to cultivate leading content power in each nation.

With participation from the largest telecom operators in each region, the XR Alliance has expanded its influence and is currently initiating its second project planning phase. Initially, it is reviewing upcoming content in globally renowned performance, fairy tale, and animation domains. The XR Alliance selects content to produce and provide through regular meetings. When member companies decide to invest or secure preliminary copyrights for content, it becomes an official project.

The XR Alliance plans to simultaneously release worldwide "Episode 2" of its first project, "Space Explorers: The ISS Experience," which was set against the International Space Station (ISS), as early as this month. Additionally, "Episodes 3 and 4," which vividly depict actual outer space beyond the space station, have already begun filming and are scheduled to be sequentially serviced within the year.

The driving factor for global companies' participation is the demand for differentiated XR content within each country. UK market research firm Research and Markets forecasts that the AR and VR technology-related market will grow at an average annual rate of 23.3% until 2026, reaching $7.76 billion (approximately 8.8627 trillion KRW). Global consulting firm PwC predicts the worldwide AR and VR market will increase more than 30 times from $46.4 billion (about 51 trillion KRW) in 2019 to $1.5 trillion (about 1,678 trillion KRW) by 2030.

Erin McPherson, Chief Content Officer at Verizon, said, "Verizon was the first company to lead the 5G era and provided customers with compelling XR content experiences," adding, "We look forward to expanding the immersive XR content market through collaboration with the XR Alliance." Michelle Bian, Vice President of Change & Innovation Governance at Orange, and Morgan Bousset, Head of Content Innovation and XR, also stated, "Thanks to the XR Alliance led by LG Uplus, we expect to see and experience the best XR experiences from the best studios." Chen, President of Tsinghua Telecom, expressed, "Collaboration with the XR Alliance will accelerate XR technology and applications and connect Taiwan's 5G entertainment industry to the world."

Choi Yoon-ho, Executive Director of 5G Service Business at LG Uplus, emphasized, "For XR content to become popularized, high-quality killer content that can be enjoyed by all ages, like blockbuster movies, is necessary," adding, "The XR Alliance has the financial and technical foundation to produce such high-quality immersive media."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.