SK Telecom, World's First CDMA Commercialization... Inducted into the 'ICT Hall of Fame'

ETRI Collaborates with Samsung and LG Electronics
Recognized at Global Conferences
CEO Yu Young-sang: "Pioneering the AI Era"

South Korea's CDMA success story has been inducted into the Hall of Fame, known as the 'Nobel Prize of the global ICT field.'

On the 10th, SK Telecom announced that the large-scale commercialization of CDMA in 1996, conducted together with the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), Samsung Electronics, and LG Electronics, has been registered as an 'IEEE Milestone' by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The photo shows the IEEE Milestone plaque installed on the exterior wall of the SKT headquarters building.
[Photo by SKT]

SK Telecom announced on the 10th that the large-scale commercialization of CDMA in 1996, carried out jointly by the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), Samsung Electronics, and LG Electronics, was selected as an outstanding achievement by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

IEEE is the world's largest society in the field of electrical and electronics engineering, established in 1884 under the leadership of Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell. Since 1983, it has operated the 'IEEE Milestone' program, which awards historic achievements that have contributed to the advancement of human society and industry.

The IEEE Milestone, known as the Nobel Prize in the global ICT field, has so far been dominated by technological powerhouses such as North America, Europe, and Japan, accounting for more than 90%. SKT earned the honor of being the first domestic company to be selected with the CDMA case. Considering IEEE's procedure of reviewing achievements over 25 years old, SKT has been striving since 2016 to register South Korea's CDMA success story through a public-private partnership.

World's First Commercialization of CDMA

SKT, ETRI, Samsung Electronics, and LG Electronics succeeded in commercializing the CDMA digital mobile communication system, which could increase call capacity more than tenfold compared to analog methods, in response to the explosive demand for mobile communications.

At that time, global companies fiercely competed over the time-division method TDMA, but South Korea challenged the commercialization of CDMA, which had dramatically higher growth potential. The government launched the Mobile Communication Technology Development Project Management Group under SKT based on the CDMA technology introduced domestically by ETRI. Subsequently, domestic device manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics actively cooperated to unify CDMA as the national standard and commercialize it for the first time in the world.

This milestone enabled South Korea to leap from a mobile communication importing country to an exporting country in one stroke. At that time, the global mobile communication market developed anew based on the technological capabilities of our public and private sectors and had a significant impact on semiconductor technology development.

IEEE Milestone Commemoration Ceremony

The IEEE Milestone award ceremony was held at SKT headquarters in Euljiro, Seoul. The plaque installed on the outer wall of the headquarters listed the names of SKT, ETRI, Samsung Electronics, and LG Electronics, the key players in South Korea's CDMA commercialization, along with their contributions to the industry.

The event was attended by Kathleen Kramer, IEEE President-Elect; Ko Jin, Chairperson of the Digital Platform Government Committee; Song Sang-hoon, Director of the Information and Communication Policy Office at the Ministry of Science and ICT; Yoo Young-sang, CEO of SKT; Baek Yong-soon, Director of the 3D Communication Research Center at ETRI; Choi Won-jun, Head of Development at Samsung Electronics MX Division; and Je Young-ho, Director of the C&M Standards Research Institute at LG Electronics.

During the ceremony, a plaque of appreciation was also presented to the bereaved family of the late Minister Seo Jeong-wook, former Minister of Science and Technology and former Vice Chairman of SKT. Based on his experience leading CDMA commercialization while at SKT, the late minister actively promoted the IEEE Milestone registration, contributing to showcasing South Korea's ICT capabilities to the world.

CEO Yoo said, "It is deeply meaningful that CDMA commercialization has been honored as the first domestic company to be inducted into the IEEE Milestone. We will pioneer the AI era with the spirit of creativity, challenge, and cooperation that achieved CDMA commercialization through the united efforts of government and industry."

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