Contela, the Korean telecom research venture, has partnered with SK Telecom (Korea) and ETRI (Korea), to co-develop 5G Small Cells. This development is part of the 'Project of Intelligent 5G Small Cell Technology Development'. The joint project group aims to commercialize 5G Small Cells in the telecommunication networks. It is set to obtain essential patents on the international standard technology in Small Cell industry. ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute) is a Korean government-funded research institution while SK Telecom is one of the leading telecom operators of the country.
Contela will develop low-powered and compact 5G Small Cells which support 3.5 GHz and 28 GHz (5G frequencies) with its proprietary technologies. Contela has been recognized for its technology, successfully providing the world first LTE Small Cells to SK Telecom in Korea and exporting LTE Small Cells to Japan and the US. SK Telecom, Korea's leading mobile network operator who is now rapidly heading towards 5G, will set requirements for 5G Small Cells based on the international standards for 5G and provide a test network for verification of 5G Small Cell equipment.
5G uses a very high frequency band with high propagation loss. Current technology makes it difficult for frequency of the 28 GHz band to pass a wall. It means that demand for Small Cell can be explosively increased to overcome the indoor shadow area. Through this joint 5G Small Cell project, it is expected that Contela can minimize time-to-market and secure competitiveness in the 5G network equipment industry where foreign-made products are dominant. It will achieve Small Cell reference early and gain a competitive edge for domestic and global market share.
