Hesitant CEOs of the Three Telecom Giants... Joined MWC as Minister Extended a Hand

Minister Im Hye-sook to Speak
Even Passive Telecoms Firm Up Resolve
Showcasing 5G Services and Technology

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] As the COVID-19 pandemic reignites, the CEOs of the three major telecom companies, who had been deliberating until the last moment, are heading to the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2022. Some telecom companies that had shown a somewhat passive attitude also confirmed their attendance following Minister Lim Hye-sook of the Ministry of Science and ICT's decision to proceed with her trip to Barcelona.

All CEOs of the Three Major Telecom Companies Gather

According to industry sources on the 21st, the heads of the three major telecom companies?Yu Young-sang, CEO of SK Telecom; Koo Hyun-mo, CEO of KT; and Hwang Hyun-sik, CEO of LG Uplus?will all attend MWC in Barcelona. It is also reported that Han Jong-hee, Vice Chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics, and No Tae-moon, President of Samsung Electronics MX Division, will participate.

MWC is the world's largest mobile and IT exhibition, but for the past two years, it was held online only due to COVID-19 issues. This year, it is being held offline for the first time in three years, raising expectations; however, companies like Sony and Lenovo are absent or participating virtually, making Chinese companies such as Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Honor the main players.

Yu Young-sang, CEO of SK Telecom, will visit MWC to promote the vision of the 'SKT 2.0 era' and expand cooperation with global figures. Koo Hyun-mo, CEO of KT, will attend as a board member of the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA). This year, the GSMA board will discuss issues related to network usage fees, which are attracting attention from telecom companies worldwide, especially in Europe. Industry attention is focused on what voice CEO Koo, a board member, will raise regarding the Netflix incident.

Hwang Hyun-sik, CEO of LG Uplus, has organized an employee delegation. While discussing 5G business cooperation plans with global big tech companies, he plans to visit booths of big tech companies such as Amazon and Qualcomm, as well as telecom equipment and device manufacturers like Samsung Electronics and Nokia. Since LG Electronics withdrew from the mobile business last year, it is interpreted that LG Uplus's footprint in joint exhibition booths at the group level has narrowed.

Minister Lim Hye-sook of the Ministry of Science and ICT, attending MWC for the first time during her term, will appear as a speaker. On March 1, she will serve as a panelist in a session titled 'What Comes After Mobile,' introducing success stories such as the introduction of a 5G 28GHz pilot service in the subway, marking the third year of 5G commercialization.

5G New Technologies, AI, and Robots Take the Stage

A notable aspect of MWC 2022 is the variety of 5G-related services and technologies. SK Telecom and KT are returning to the MWC stage for the first time in three years since 2019. Samsung Electronics will unveil its new premium laptop series, the 'Galaxy Book2,' through an online event called 'Samsung Galaxy MWC Event 2022,' alongside its exhibition booth.

SK Telecom has prepared a large exhibition hall of 792㎡ (approximately 250 pyeong) in the central area of Hall 3 at the core exhibition venue 'Fira Gran Via' at MWC22, showcasing future-leading technologies and services such as metaverse, AI, and UAM. Visitors can experience the '4D Metaverse,' where they ride a large robotic arm to explore a virtual future world (Meta Planet), and enjoy various attractions including a 'remote docent' that introduces exhibition items contactlessly for visitor safety. SK Telecom will also separately exhibit its ESG project along with 11 innovative startups from Korea that are jointly promoting ESG.

KT will open an exhibition hall themed 'The Engine of Digital Innovation, DigiCo KT,' consisting of three zones: artificial intelligence (AI), robots, and KT Group & partners. It plans to showcase the technology and application cases of its AI Contact Center (AICC), which has been well received since its domestic launch in the second half of last year, on the global stage. LG Uplus will operate meeting spaces for buyers and a 5G service demonstration zone featuring XR content at the exhibition. Since the commercialization of 5G in 2019, the company plans to expand the export routes of U+5G services and content and explore 5G cooperation opportunities with telecom companies worldwide.

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