- KT SAT-KT Collaboration for 5G Data Transmission
- KOREASAT 6 Ensures Transmission after 5G Disconnection 
- Content Transmission Possible to All Smartphones in the Same Bandwidth 
- KT SAT, KTICT to Jointly Report Satellite 5G Test Results to 3GPP 

KT Corp. (KRX: 030200; NYSE: KT) said its satellite-operating subsidiary, KT 
SAT, has successfully conducted the world's first 5G data transmission with a 
satellite connection.

Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20191125/2652864-1 
(caption:Technicians successfully conduct the world¡¯s first 5G data 
transmission with a satellite connection from Seoul, South Korea. The test 
aimed to expand the fifth-generation technology linked to KT¡¯s 5G network and 
KT SAT¡¯s KOREASAT 6. )

The test was aimed to expand the fifth-generation technology linked to KT's 5G 
network and KT SAT's KOREASAT 6, located some 36,000 kilometers above the 
equator, said the leading Korean telecom provider. 

KT SAT and the KT Institute of Convergence Technology executed the project 
together. They implemented "hybrid terrestrial-satellite 5G transmission," 
which combines different networks to deliver data better than typical 5G 
service, and "5G edge cloud media transmission using satellite communications 
backhaul links." That meshes satellite communications with the content delivery 
network (CDN) for video transmissions from the 5G edge cloud. 

The 5G edge cloud can be seen as a virtual data center. It handles data 
generated from user terminals at the nearest possible spot in order to maximize 
the 5G capacity for ultra-low latency.

The key to hybrid satellite-terrestrial 5G transmission is a router jointly 
developed by the KT institute and KT SAT. 5G terminals connected to this device 
can simultaneously transmit and receive various data, or use separate routes, 
to and from a 5G network and a satellite.

KT SAT, by using this technology, successfully maintained normal service 
operations with KOREASAT 6 alone, after the 5G network was intentionally 
disconnected. 

The test showed how the hybrid 5G transmission technology can enable 5G-based 
automated machinery or moving vehicle to maintain its network connection when 
5G coverage becomes unavailable, or a natural disaster has occurred. 

Currently, KT SAT operates five communication satellites - KOREASAT 5, 5A, 6, 7 
and 8. They can have coverage to some 60 percent of the total surface area of 
Earth. 

By using satellite communications backhaul links, KT SAT transmitted real-time 
streaming data and live video camera footage from its Kumsan Satellite Service 
Center to the 5G edge cloud at the KT Research and Development Center in 
Umyeon-dong, Seoul. The transmission was through KOREASAT 6, resulting in 
seamless data transmission to multiple 5G terminals. 

This latest technology enables simultaneous content transmission to all 
smartphones accessible in the same bandwidth, whereas conventional satellite 
communications can only provide the transmission of high-definition (HD) video 
footage to a single smartphone within a given bandwidth.

Broadcasting stations and large content companies have only been able to use 
satellite-based broadcast relays because satellite communication is limited in 
bandwidth and expensive. 

KT SAT predicts that if the two technologies are commercialized, satellite 
communication with relatively slow speed could be boosted to provide faster, 
uninterrupted data transmission. It will widen opportunities for many users in 
countries with less developed communications systems to access high-quality 
content.

KT SAT explained the objective of its research in satellite 5G is achieving a 
complete interconnection of 5G NR (New Radio) and satellite communications, by 
devising global standards for the technology of interconnecting satellite and 
5G.

KT SAT and the KT institute are trying to report the test results to the 3rd 
Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) during the first half of 2020. Satellite 
5G is one of the research subjects encouraged by the international 
specification organization under its 2018 initiative, "3GPP Release 16."

Many experts in the communications field expect that global standardization 
efforts for satellite 5G will begin in earnest in 2020, under the initiative 
"3GPP Release 17," based on results of the current research. 

"Meshing satellite and 5G will create communication environments without 
regional gaps, greatly contributing to both disaster and emergency 
communication and content markets where communication is quintessential," said 
Hahn Won-Sic, president of KT SAT. "Through continued technological exchange 
with KT, we will strive to achieve global technological standardization and 
provide good customer service." 

Jeon Hong-Beom, KT's executive vice president and head of the KT Institute of 
Convergence Technology, said, "We are very pleased to have succeeded in 
interlinking satellite and 5G for the first time in the world by using the 5G 
technologies possessed by KT Group. We expect that our institute will 
contribute to developing new business models in the days ahead by mustering our 
group-wide technological prowess." 

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SOURCE: KT Corp.