SKT and Japan's NTT Docomo Publish White Paper... Leading the 6G Era

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Oh] SK Telecom announced on the 22nd that it has published a technical white paper on common 6G requirements and 5G base station power reduction technology together with Japanese telecom operator NTT Docomo.

This technical white paper is the result of reflecting common requirements necessary for 6G technology and power reduction technology based on the know-how accumulated over the past four years by the leading Korean and Japanese telecom operators since the commercialization of 5G.

Ryu Takgi, Head of Infrastructure Technology at SKT (left), and Takehiro Nakamura, CTA of NTT Docomo, pose for a commemorative photo ahead of the joint white paper publication.
[Photo by SKT]

First, the 6G common requirements white paper includes five common requirements: ▲discovering new products and services to activate the 6G ecosystem ▲activating 6G Open RAN standards and equipment ecosystem ▲standardizing 6G architecture design for efficient utilization of existing networks such as 5G ▲developing equipment, terminals, and batteries suitable for high-frequency band characteristics ▲defining usage for efficient frequency utilization.

Both companies expect this white paper to provide meaningful guidance for the establishment of international 6G standards and related technology development by technical standardization organizations such as ITU-R and 3GPP in the future.

The 5G base station power reduction technology white paper includes ▲discovering optimal power reduction technologies through measuring base station power consumption of both companies ▲analyzing and advancing power reduction technologies ▲defining power efficiency improvement processes through cooperation with manufacturers. It is expected to be meaningful in terms of strengthening cooperation among global operators to reduce 5G base station power consumption and enhancing ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) practice cooperation, including contributing to achieving net-zero.

SKT and NTT Docomo signed a strategic partnership last November to closely cooperate in three major areas: telecommunications infrastructure, media, and metaverse. This white paper is the first concrete outcome of that cooperation.

Going forward, both companies plan to closely collaborate on jointly researching key technologies of 5G Evolution, which is a step beyond 5G, and 6G, and establishing technical standards together.

SKT is leading the early ecosystem formation of 6G, including being the only domestic operator participating in the ‘6G Requirements and Design Considerations’ white paper released by the global operator-led alliance NGMN (Next Generation Mobile Networks) on the 14th.

NGMN is an international alliance centered on major global telecom operators such as SKT, Deutsche Telekom, NTT Docomo, Vodafone, and China Mobile, along with key manufacturers and academia, discussing next-generation network infrastructure, service platforms, and terminal standardization.

SKT plans to contribute to presenting the direction of technological evolution needed in the 6G era and creating a close cooperative environment among domestic and international operators by participating in NGMN together with these global partners.

Ryu Takgi, Head of Infrastructure Technology at SKT, said, “This white paper is especially meaningful as the first visible outcome since the strategic partnership with NTT Docomo last year,” adding, “SKT will lead the evolution to the 6G era as well as the advancement of 5G based on the know-how and experience of the world’s first commercialized 5G technology.”

Takehiro Nakamura, Chief Technology Architect (CTA) of NTT Docomo, said, “We are pleased to jointly announce the white paper on 6G requirements and base station power reduction as a result of cooperation with SKT that began in November 2022,” and added, “We will continue to strengthen cooperation between the two major Asian mobile operators for the evolution of 6G.”

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