Press Release

KT and Samsung to Expand Public Safety LTE Network Coverage in South Korea

May 02. 2019

SEOUL, Korea - May 2, 2019 - Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced that it has signed an expansion contract with KT Corporation (KT) to provide public safety (PS-LTE) network solutions based on 3GPP standard Release 13 for 10 major metropolitan regions in South Korea including Seoul by 2020. In addition, the two companies will be delivering the world's first narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) service through the PS-LTE network.

 

This marks the third project in which KT and Samsung's Networks Business unit have partnered on PS-LTE network deployments. The two previous projects were the world's first PS-LTE network throughout Gangwon (Pyeongchang) province of South Korea using 700MHz based on the 3GPP standard in 2016 (Link), and the 2017 delivery of LTE-Railway service on a high-speed train traveling at up to 250 km/hour (155 mph) using MCPTT solutions for the first time (Link). The two companies are now aiming to expand the PS-LTE network further into the metropolitan areas around the country, including Seoul, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Jeolla, Gyeongbuk and Chungnam provinces.

 

"Samsung is thrilled about this significant achievement in the country's public safety solutions, where our continuous efforts and innovation on technology have helped to advance safety," said GY Seo, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Sales & Marketing, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. "Samsung is honored to take part in this important mission with KT by providing PS-LTE solutions that will ensure seamless and stable connectivity across the nation."

 

"By acquiring innovative wireless communications from Samsung, we are able to aid in life-threatening situations where data traffic is severely congested or connection is completely out of reach," said Yoon-Young Park, Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Enterprise Business Group at KT. "These first-of their-kind networks help responders connect with those in need."

 

In addition to LTE radio base stations that support 700MHz, Samsung is providing KT with virtualized core and the latest features of PS-LTE based on the 3GPP standard. Some of the key features include MCPTT solutions, RAN Sharing, evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service, Public Network IoT based on NB-IoT, Isolated eUTRAN Operation for Public Safety (IOPS), and device to device (D2D) network solutions.

 

D2D and NB-IoT play crucial roles in creating public safety network by ensuring stable, seamless, and reliable network in unfavorable environments. For instance, D2D allows direct and undisrupted communications between any two devices without traversing radio base stations or core networks, even in areas where bases stations are not provided. 

 

For the first time, NB-IoT is applied to the public safety network to help prevent natural disasters like fires, as hundreds of IoT sensors are deployed to sense even the smallest size of embers, as well as people that have been stranded in remote areas of mountains that are hard to spot.

Newly Applied PS-LTE Key features

Newly Applied PS-LTE Key features
Technology Description
Device-to-Device (D2D) Direct communication between two devices without traversing the radio base station or core network.
Isolated Operation Public Safety (IOPS) A feature that provides its own network at coverage holes, such as mountainous regions.
Narrow band IoT (NB-IoT) NB-IoT - in contrast with 4G LTE that utilizes bandwidth of 10~20MHz at a time - uses a narrow bandwidth of 200KHz. Using millions of sensors, NB-IoT technology applied in the public safety network improves monitoring capabilities for tracking locations and catching scenes that are hard to be recognized by humans.
Mission Critical Push-To-Talk (MCPTT) A technology defined in the 3GPP standard that allows public safety agencies to leverage LTE technological advancements for mission-critical communications.
※ MCPTT, which has been verified of its capabilities from LTE-R, is being applied to PS-LTE for the first time.
LTE Broadcast (eMBMS) A feature of real time situations to hundreds of devices simultaneously. It enables thousands of devices to be connected at once to transfer video, images and voice simultaneously using multicast technology

About KT Corp.

KT Corporation (KRX: 030200; NYSE: KT), Korea's largest telecommunications service provider, reestablished in 1981 under the Telecommunications Business Act, is leading the era of innovations in the world's most connected country. The company is leading the 4th industrial revolution with high speed wire/wireless network and new ICT technology. KT launched the world's first nationwide commercial 5G network on April 3, 2019, after successfully showcasing the world's first trial 5G services at the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games in February 2018. This is another milestone in KT's continuous efforts to deliver essential products and services as it aspires to be the number one ICT Company and People's Company.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, digital appliances, network systems, and memory, system LSI, foundry and LED solutions. For the latest news, please visit the Samsung Newsroom at http://news.samsung.com.