The European Commission and the South Korean government have signed an agreement that’ll see them working together to create a global definition of exactly what 5G mobile technology is, what it’ll do and when it’ll be available.
Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission for the Digital Agenda, and Mun-Kee Choi, who’s the Minister of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) for South Korea, also agreed to co-operate on 5G research.
As part of the agreement, a memorandum of understanding will be signed between the EU’s 5G Infrastructure Association (whose members include Alcatel-Lucent, Atos, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, Nokia, Orange, Telecom Italia, Telenor and Telefonica) and South Korea’s 5G Forum.
Ms Kroes said “5G will become the new lifeblood of the digital economy and digital society once it is established. Both Europe and South Korea recognise this. This is the first time ever that public authorities have joined together in this way, with the support of private industry, to push forward the process of standardisation. Today’s declaration signals our commitment to being global digital leaders.”
Today’s agreement follows a summit between the EC and South Korea in November last year.