SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) announced today that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Bell Labs, the research arm of Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE:ALU), a global leading communication solution provider incorporated in France,  to conduct collaborative research projects on big data and next-generation video technologies on October 8, 2012.

Under the MOU, SK Telecom and Bell Labs will jointly carry out studies on big data analytics engine and platform as well as next-generation video analytics technology and system.

Since its establishment in 1925, Bell Labs has developed core technologies in the field of communications including the transistor, the UNIX operating system, cellular telephony, the laser and communications satellites, and holds over 29,000 active patents. As one of the world’s most prestigious research labs, Bell Labs produced 13 Nobel Prize winners and cur-rently has research activities in several locations around the world to bring more innovations to the field of telecommunications network technology. 

Based on its homegrown big data-related large scale distributed storage system and parallel processing technology, SK Telecom is already operating Geovision, a business platform offering site location/ trading area analysis. Moreover, the company is actively developing next-generation video technologies like smart video recorder.

With its extensive experience and know-how in telecommunications – represented by the world’s first commercialization of CDMA network, LTE Multi-Carrier technology, etc. - SK Telecom sees the MOU with Bell Labs, the producer of many major fundamental source technologies in the telecommunications field, as an opportunity to create new innovative world-class services, thereby leading the growth of the Korean ICT industry.

Byun Jae-Woan, CTO of SK Telecom said, "The combination of SK Telecom’s experience of commercializing diverse telecommunications services and Bell Labs’ expertise in big data and video related technologies will lead to the creation of new innovative services that bring greater value and convenience to customers."

Randy Giles, Executive Director and President of Bell Labs Seoul said, "We are delighted to work with SK Telecom, the global LTE leader, to research core technologies for next-generation services. Our joint research conducted under the MOU will serve as an important milestone in the development of services based on data and video analytics technologies."