SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM) announced today that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with China Mobile in Beijing, China, on March 31. Under the MOU, the companies will jointly develop new, next-generation technologies in four key ICT areas including: Next-Generation Network, Device Platform, Machine to Machine (M2M) and WAC/Mobile Internet.

The MOU signing ceremony was attended by senior executives of both companies including Jin Yongzhe, Senior Vice President and Head of China R&D Group, SK Telecom, and Wang Xiaoyun, Deputy General Manager of China Mobile.
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Hong Sung-Cheol, Chief Technology Officer of SK Telecom, said, "The technological collaboration between the top telecom companies in Korea and China will help SK Telecom shape the next-generation ICT standards and become the first to provide differentiated services across the world."

Under the MOU, the two companies will:
• Promote joint research in the advancement of low cost, high efficiency next generation radio access network architecture, such as SCAN(Smart Cloud Access Network) and set up test beds for evaluation.
• Upgrade device software platform to provide application developers with better development environments
• Lead global standardization of new platform business including M2M by building a joint R&D laboratory.
• Gain market leadership and set global standards by combining both companies’ capabilities in application store while also cooperating in WAC related areas, such as mobile application store service enhancement, mobile web platform development, WAC application development tool development/optimization and WAC application developer joint promotion.

The CTOs of SK Telecom and China Mobile first met in September 2010 and agreed in principle to have ongoing collaboration in R&D in order for the two companies to lead the world in technological development and create new opportunities in the rapidly changing global marketplace.

With this latest MOU in China, SK Telecom aims to establish itself as a ’Global ICT Leader’ in the Chinese market and strengthen its technological leadership in the international market.