SK announced on the 29th it has become the inaugural chair of the Telco Infra Project (TIP), a global initiative co-founded by global leaders including Facebook, to bring all the players in the industry together to develop 5G technologies. Alex Jinsung Choi, CTO of SK Telecom, was elected as the first TIP chairman.

The TIP was launched in February 2016 by Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, with global leading companies in the IT industry, including SK Telecom, Deutsche Telekom AG, EE, Nokia, Intel, and more. The organization is aiming to develop fast and efficient next-generation network and technologies like 5G, and seek ways of providing more innovative Internet and communications service to, for example, areas with poor communication infra.

<SK Telecom has become the inaugural chair of the Telco Infra Project (TIP), a global initiative co-founded by global leaders including Facebook, to get the world ready for 5G. Dr. Alex Jinsung Choi, CTO of SK Telecom, was elected as the first TIP chairman>

With more members including UK-based Vodafone, Spain-based Telefonica, etc. joining, the organization now has 43 members. SK Telecom, as the TIP chairman, will establish hot lines with members, and will be acting as a mediator among members. 

Dr. Choi is in charge of establishing strategies and development of future technologies, such as 5G, cloud, big data, IoT, etc. He said, "SK Telecom will lead global 5G innovation through continuous cooperation with ICT leaders including Facebook."

As the first official event since its inauguration, the operator plans to invite high-ranking officials from TIP members including Facebook, Intel, Deutsche Telekom for a meeting on June 8th, and share ideas on cooperation with 5G network technologies.

Last year in October, SK Telecom launched '5G Global Innovation Center' in injunction with global IT companies like Samsung Electronics, Nokia, Ericsson, etc. Also, in March, it joined forces with Samsung Electronics to test the headway made in their 5G network technologies.