South Korea’s KT and LG Electronics have announced plans to collaborate on developing 6G technologies and standards, with a focus on wideband full-duplex communications technology.
The two companies said in a joint statement that the partnership will focus on developing next-generation transmission and full-duplex communication technologies, as well as cooperating on global standardization.
Full-duplex capability allows uplink and downlink data to be transmitted and received simultaneously over a single frequency band, potentially improving spectral efficiency by up to two times, the statement added. Traditional methods separate uplink and downlink data by time or frequency.
The two companies aim to develop wideband full-duplex equipment operating in 6G candidate frequencies, design and manufacture next-generation transmitter and receiver equipment, and conduct performance verification testing.
Jae Young-ho, director of LG Electronics’ C&M Standards Research Institute, said the company has been working on 6G core technology since 2019 and expects to “not only lead 6G standardization but also contribute to the discovery of core services” through its partnership with KT.
In June, telecommunications operator KT announced a partnership with Nokia on 6G research.
KT CEO Kim Young-seop predicted last October that the industry’s approach to developing 6G technology would be different from the past by focusing first on services rather than infrastructure.
3GPP aims to complete the standard specifications necessary for the development of 6G base stations and terminals by 2029.
