Mobile Carriers Visit Samsung for 'The Lord of the Rings'... MWC Becomes a Collaboration Platform

Since Samsung Electronics unveiled the actual Galaxy Ring, mobile carriers have been proposing collaborations one after another. Analysts suggest that these carriers, seeing the potential of the ‘Ring’?a device worn on the finger that enables 24-hour healthcare?have identified it as a new business opportunity. There is growing anticipation that carriers will launch various services utilizing the Galaxy Ring, with interpretations that it is considered the most marketable wearable device after watches.

No Tae-moon, President of Samsung Electronics MX Division, is touring the Samsung Electronics booth with Hwang Hyun-sik, CEO of LG Uplus, on the second day of the 'Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024' on the 27th (local time) at Fira Gran Via Exhibition Center in Barcelona, Spain.
The theme of MWC 2024 is 'Future First,' which means that various technologies, industries, groups, and countries must unite and prepare for the future ahead. Photo by Joint Press Corps

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On the 27th (local time), Hwang Hyun-sik, CEO of LG Uplus, visited the Samsung Electronics exhibition hall at the world’s largest mobile telecommunications exhibition, Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024, held in Barcelona, Spain, and met with Samsung Electronics President (Head of MX Division) No Tae-moon. He said, "I hope we can collaborate well on areas where our telecom company’s artificial intelligence (AI) services can work together." President No responded, "We will definitely do so."

What Hwang closely observed at the Samsung Electronics exhibition was the smart ring ‘Galaxy Ring,’ which is scheduled for release within this year. He also viewed the ‘SmartThings’ service, which supports device interconnectivity. At the event, Hwang said, "(Samsung Electronics) has opened a new horizon for AI through on-device AI," adding, "I believe it will bring a revolution to AI services in the future."

SK Telecom also visited the Samsung Electronics exhibition hall to knock on the door of collaboration. SK Chairman Choi Tae-won asked President No whether the Galaxy Ring could connect to a mobile phone and display content on a screen. The fact that CEOs of telecom companies emphasized collaboration one after another is because growth is difficult with traditional mobile telecommunications alone. To gain an advantage in the AI market, where all three major carriers are competing, securing differentiated competitiveness is crucial. This is why attention is focused on Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Ring.

Professor Choi Kyung-jin of Gachon University’s Department of Law said, "From the perspective of telecom companies, it has become important to provide customer-tailored services using AI," and added, "The collaborations formed at MWC are expected to enhance the profitability and business efficiency of telecom companies."

Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK (right) and President Roh Tae-moon, Head of Samsung Electronics MX Division, are touring the Samsung Electronics booth at the Fira Gran Via exhibition center in Barcelona, Spain, on the 26th (local time), the opening day of the world's largest mobile telecommunications exhibition, Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024.
The theme of MWC 2024 is "Future First," which signifies that various technologies, industries, groups, and countries must unite and prepare for the future ahead. Photo by Joint Press Corps

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Plans for collaboration between domestic telecom companies and global corporations also stand out. On the 26th, Chairman Choi Tae-won and SKT CEO Yoo Young-sang met with top executives from leading telecom companies in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia to sign a joint venture agreement. They agreed to create a ‘telecom-specialized large language model (Telco LLM)’ to develop a multilingual LLM supporting various languages worldwide. Through this opportunity, SKT secured a customer base of approximately 1.3 billion subscribers combined from the participating telecom companies in the joint venture. LG Uplus is collaborating with Samsung Electronics and Amazon Web Services (AWS) to develop an automation function that optimizes the timing of 5G equipment expansion based on AI technology. KT signed an agreement to host the 2024 Mobile360 Asia-Pacific (M360 APAC) in Seoul, organized by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), to discuss ICT industry agendas related to mobile industry issues.

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