SKT Partners with Joby Aviation to Lead Urban Air Mobility Market in the US

SKT Combines Telecommunications, Platform, and Service Expertise with Joby's Aircraft Development Capabilities
Joint Steering Committee Formed by Both CEOs to Collaborate on Aircraft Service Platform and More

Last month, Yoo Sang-young, CEO of SKT (left), and Joben Vibert, CEO of Joby Aviation (right), were seen boarding a UAM aircraft at the Joby Aviation production facility located in Marina, California, USA.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-sun] SK Telecom (SKT) is leading Urban Air Mobility (UAM), known as the "flower of future urban mobility." UAM is an electric-powered aerial mobility service that enables vertical takeoff and landing without runways in urban areas and can be linked with various ground transportation modes, making it an eco-friendly means of transportation.

On the 7th, SKT announced that it has signed a strategic business agreement with Joby Aviation, a global UAM aircraft manufacturer. Joby Aviation holds the longest flight record for electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) used in UAM and is a global leader in the UAM aircraft manufacturing sector, being the first to receive the G-1 certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for commercial flight. Last year, it was the fastest among global companies to build large-scale production facilities in preparation for mass production of aircraft.

Last month, SKT CEO Yoo Young-sang and other key executives visited Joby Aviation’s production facility in Marina, California, USA, and met with Joby Beavers, CEO and founder, along with other key executives.

SKT and Joby Aviation have formed a regular consultative body led by the CEOs of both companies to actively cooperate across all areas including aircraft and service platforms (MaaS). Their strategy is to lead the future development of the UAM industry through the synergy of both companies.

SKT expects that Joby Aviation’s experience and know-how from successfully participating in NASA’s demonstration test (AAM National Campaign) in the U.S. will serve as a reference for the ‘Korean Urban Air Mobility Grand Challenge’ demonstration project to be promoted domestically next year.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will conduct the Grand Challenge to verify safety, establish appropriate safety standards, and support industry testing and demonstration ahead of the first commercialization of UAM in 2025. The first phase of the Grand Challenge demonstration (2023) will be conducted at the National Comprehensive Flight Performance Test Site in Goheung, Jeollanam-do, verifying the safety of UAM aircraft and communication systems and demonstrating integrated operation of the K-UAM traffic system. The second phase demonstration (2024) plans to conduct test flights equivalent to commercialization on dedicated UAM air routes connecting airports with suburban and urban centers, targeting routes expected to be first commercialized in 2025.

SKT plans to lead K-UAM by combining its excellent information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, including communication and the TMAP platform, with Joby Aviation’s air taxi demonstration experience.

SKT is advancing its UAM business based on its accumulated capabilities in communication, autonomous driving, precise positioning, and security. It is expanding the scope of services such as artificial intelligence (AI), mobility, and over-the-top (OTT) online video services, which were previously provided on the ground, into the airspace, accelerating innovation to realize ‘Meta Connectivity’ that transcends spatial constraints.

Through this, SKT plans to evolve into a leading ‘Connected Intelligence’ business that intelligently connects physical elements such as UAM aircraft, vertiports (vertical takeoff and landing platforms), and existing ground transportation. Based on its operational capabilities in location-based services such as TMAP, SKT will analyze the economic feasibility of the domestic UAM market and review promising routes and optimal vertiport locations.

At the end of last year, SKT launched a UAM business task force (TF) team directly under the CEO to conduct research and investment simultaneously.

SKT CEO Yoo Young-sang said, “To lead future industries centered on UAM, autonomous driving, and robotics, ultra-collaboration with global top players is essential. We will continue various efforts to lead the future UAM industry based on SKT’s technology and services.”

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