Korea’s communications industry has challenged network functions virtualization (NFV) technology development as the first in the world. 

Following LG U+, SK Telecom also started a network function virtualization project implementer selection process, and thus drew attention of the solution industry as well as domestic and international communication equipment makers. Virtualization is a core element for the 5th generation (5G) communication. Each common carrier is focusing on the related technological development at the moment. Common carrier NFV commercialization has not yet been achieved both in Korea and abroad. Therefore, competition over the title of being the ‘first’ is forecast to intensify. 

According to the communications industry on the 4th, while LG U+’s selection of a company to implement the first common carrier core network NFV application project is reaching its final stage, SK Telecom also commenced an NFV project implementer selection process. The goal of this project is to implement IoT based on NFV by utilizing IoT network of SK Telecom’s Network Virtualization Center in the company’s Boramae office, which opened in September. 

This is to complete a strict verification with IoT prior to NFC application to mobile phone network accessed by general users. LG U+ also has the same strategy. SK Telecom plans to promote NFV business in two areas, ‘evolved packet core (EPC),’ which is a key to LTE core network, and ‘orchestration’ for cloud service, according to sources. 

In particular, NFV application to EPC, which is comprised of high-end equipments like serving gateway (SGW), mobility management entity (MME) and packet data network gateway (PGW), is compulsory for commercialization. Prior to this, SK Telecom carried out a pilot application of NFV technology to HD voice in February this year following the proof-of-concept (PoC) execution at the end of last year. The goal is to expand the application to core equipments, such as base station, and also to services by 2017. 

“An infrastructure for virtualization is installed in our Boramae office. Our goal is to accumulate technological power by applying NFV to IoT centering on this infrastructure,” said a SK Telecom insider. “This project is aimed at reducing trials and errors by strict verification and at achieving stable NFV commercialization.” 

According to communications equipment industry, SK Telecom will select a project implementer by early next year through benchmarking test (BMT) and complete the system implementation by the second quarter. It is forecast that most companies that had played a part in LG U+’ business as well as global equipment makers, such as Ericsson LG and Nokia, participated in the selection process. 

LG U+ carried out the project implementer selection in two parts, EPC and PI multimedia subsystem (IMS). IMS is an infrastructure system for IP-based services, such as voice LTE (VoLTE). With only the final company selection remaining, LG U+ is forecast to commence the business in the near future.