ZDNet is reporting that KT, South Korea’s largest telephone company, has announced the successful transfer of data between their 5G network and a satellite 36,000 kilometers away.
The news has huge implications for wireless carriers around the world, as many struggle to deploy 5G networks in rural areas.
According to ZDNet, “KT will also be able to use the satellite as a back-haul when transferring media files to multiple devices simultaneously, and will also allow the carrier to provide more stable 5G services by grouping its network with the satellite.
“KT said it has developed a hybrid router for the test, and performed HD streaming from its 5G network and satellite to multiple 5G handsets for the test.”
KT plans on submitting the test results to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) sometime next year. 3GPP is the organization that develops protocol standards for wireless technology and KT hopes their results will contribute to the 5G-satellite standard.
Should it become widely adopted, the technology will assist countries with limited infrastructure to successfully roll out 5G. Even countries with large scale rollouts could still use the technology to cover remote areas where millimeter wave (mmWave) 5G is not feasible, due to its limited range.