SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) today kicks off its participation at the GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2012, the world’s largest exhibition and conference for the mobile industry. This year at a 234m² large exhibition area at 8A147 of Hall 8 Building, the company will showcase some of its most advanced technologies and services that are set to drive the advance of worldwide telecommunications industry.

The MWC 2012 will be held in Barcelona, Spain and is organized annually by the GSMA (Global System for Mobile Communication Association), an association of around 1,000 mobile operators, handset manufactures and equipment providers from over 210 countries. With more than 1,400 companies from all across the globe, this year’s MWC is expected to attract over 60,000 visitors.

This is the first time the company participates in the exhibition after the acquisition of Hynix, the world’s second largest memory chip manufacturer, and the spin-off of SK Planet, contents distribution platform provider. SK Telecom will take the exhibition as an opportunity to demonstrate how the above two major moves will help accelerate its growth and delivery of innovations.

Being one of the first operators worldwide to commercialize cloud-based LTE network technology and LTE femtocells, SK Telecom will display a wide range of network technologies, and platform-related technologies and services in its exhibition area, designed under three themes: Smart Lab Zone, Smart Park Zone and Smart Home Zone.

■ Smart Lab Zone:
▲Hybrid Network
For the first time in the world, SK Telecom independently developed a commercial technology to realize the most efficient and optimum use of available radio resources. Named ‘Hybrid Network’, the technology enables simultaneous use of two different types of networks – i.e. 3G and Wi-Fi, or LTE and Wi-Fi – to provide a data service, the speed of which is equivalent to the sum of two independent networks.

▲LTE Femto System
The company has completed the world’s first development of ‘Wi-Fi Integrated LTE Femtocell’ to provide both LTE and Wi-Fi services simultaneously. Femtocell is an ultra-mini base station that enables high speed and quality service by increasing the amount of data each user can send/receive. The strength of the Wi-Fi Integrated LTE Femtocell is that - as it is comprised of both LTE femtocell and Wi-Fi Access Point (AP) - it can significantly reduce equipment installation and operating cost.

▲LTE-Advanced Solution (Carrier Aggregation)
Since launching LTE service in July 2011, SK Telecom has already started preparing for LTE-Advanced solution that would further refine existing LTE offerings. The company plans to launch LTE-Advanced service, which efficiently integrates multiple frequency spectrums, and is currently leading efforts to standardize Carrier Aggregation, the core element of the integration. At the exhibition, the company will conduct a demonstration to show how two 20MHz-wide bandwidths are aggregated to support a data transfer rate up to almost 300Mbps for dual antenna devices.

▲Smart Push System
Smart Push is a network solution that integrates and manages keep-alive signals, which are exchanged between apps running on smartphones and Internet servers to check whether the link between the two is live. It benefits subscribers, network operators and service providers by eliminating unnecessary keep-alive signals and reducing the burden on the network.

▲Cellular-based RTTI (Real-Time Traffic Information) 
SK Telecom has developed and commercialized Cellular-based RTTI technology that generates real-time traffic information by utilizing the call data produced from anonymous mobile users on selected roads and expressways. The generated traffic information is currently being provided through T Map, SK Telecom’s traffic-enabled mobile navigation service, as well as to various enterprises such as portals and broadcast media. The technology, patented by SK Telecom, will enable mobile carriers in other countries to offer accurate, affordable real-time traffic information service using their existing mobile network infrastructure.

■ Smart Park Zone:
▲ NFC
SK Telecom’s NFC-Embedded USIM Card is the world’s first USIM chip embedded with NFC function. Customers no longer have to buy a mobile phone with built-in NFC chip to use the NFC function. NFC-Embedded USIM enables customers to use NFC function and enjoy diverse NFC-based services with their existing handsets – be it a feature phone or a smartphone - by simply inserting the Card.

To foster a healthy ecosystem for NFC technologies, NFC Open Platform is provided by SK Planet to enable service providers or third party developers to easily and effectively create services/applications. Since launching USIM-based transportation card service in 2007, SK Planet has been offering a wide array of services including NFC Multiplex Theatres, Smart Cafe, and NFC Baseball Stadium, all of which will be showcased at the exhibition.

▲ T Store – Content Provider Platform
T Store, a marketplace for mobile contents including games, apps, publications, music, ringtones and broadcasting programs, is Korea’s largest and most popular app store for smartphones and tablet PCs. As of January 2012, T Store has over 11 million registered users; records more than 1.5 million downloads on average per day; is selling a total of 180,000 different contents; and has around 28,000 registered developers, the number of which is increasing at a rapid pace.

Furthermore, in November 2011, SK Telecom took its T Store platform to Japan and launched an app store named ‘qiip’ to offer popular Korean applications and localized contents to the Japanese customers.

▲ ADF(Application Development Factory) 
ADF is a global app developer platform specializing in social networking and entertainment contents, providing apps for iOS and Android devices. Backed by huge support from smart device users, ADF has successfully consolidated its position in Korea with plans to open up to global customers. It aims to become a global app trend setter by creating a cultural space where people from around the world can share, exchange and enjoy entertainment content.

■ Smart Home Zone:
▲Rich Communication Suite (RCS)
RCS (Rich Communication Suite) is the next generation integrated communication service designed to provide customers with a richer communications experience by upgrading the existing service environment where customers can only use one service (call, text message, etc.) at a time. In other words, customers will be able to share their video/audio files, photos, document files, location information, etc while voice calling, messaging or chatting via their RCS-embedded mobile devices.

The strength of RCS lies in its convenience and stability. It requires no sign-up procedure and allows for simultaneous use of diverse forms of communications to enrich user’s communications experience, while ensuring a high-level of stability as the network operator itself is providing the service.

SK Telecom has been leading the development of core RCS technologies, launching the world’s first RCS-based high-definition video call service in December 2009. Moreover, SK Telecom, along with two other Korean mobile carriers, successfully launched the world’s first commercially available interoperable IMS service in March 2009. The company has plans to launch RCS-embedded devices as well as RCS applications for Android/iOS devices and PCs.

At the exhibition, SK Telecom will showcase an RCS service with features of Enhanced Address Book, Enhanced Messaging, Enhanced File Transfer and Enhanced Supplementary Service.    

▲ Smart Health (Connected Health Solution & M-prescription)
Connected Health Solution is a remote chronic illness management solution based on DSSH (Decision Support System for Home-healthcare) platform. The patient’s self-measured bio-information is sent to SK Telecom’s DSSH platform through mobile devices. Then, using this information, the doctor in charge and hospital service center offer customized health care information and remote consultations to effectively support patients manage their chronic illnesses.
M-prescription is an electronic prescription platform that automatically sends hospital prescriptions to pharmacies. The use of electronic prescriptions instead of paper-based prescriptions will help save natural resources; significantly reduce keying errors; and prevent leakage of personal information caused by improper management. 

▲T Smart Learning
Launched in the second quarter of 2011 in Korea, T Smart Learning helps students study various subjects using tablet PCs. The service empowers students by offering online and integrated tools that prioritize coursework, set goals, manage schedules, organize study groups, find tutor support, improve skill sets, and provide supplemental coursework to dynamically change learning and actively engage students in the process. SK Telecom is expanding the service to cover wider age range of students, more diversified study subjects and language medium of instruction.

▲ Smart Robot
Smart Robot is basically a combination of a smartphone and a robot as it employs smartphone’s CPU and display as well as robot’s diverse sensors and real-time response/motion function. Controlled via smartphone’s bluetooth connection, the robot makes learning more interesting for toddlers through many educational interactive games.

▲Sound Code
Sound Code is the technology of embedding encoded data to audible frequencies and transmitting them to smartphone screens. In other words, it allows smartphone users to listen to audio contents, while at the same time receiving useful information related to those contents. Thus, Sound Code can act as an additional communication channel for content developers as well as an efficient marketing tool for advertisers.

■ Hynix state-of-the-art semiconductor technology
With SK Telecom’s acquisition of Hynix in February 2012, SK Telecom and Hynix plan to make synergies by focusing on communications semiconductor and memory technologies and maintaining its dominance in the DRAM and NAND Flash market with the world’s finest level of process technology and marketing competence.

During the exhibition, Hynix will showcase latest computing memory (used in desktop, notebook PCs, netbook PCs and servers as main memory) as well as mobile memory (used in mobile devices) which have already gained tremendous market success around the world. Other products include consumer and networking memory, NAND Flash Memory and CMOS Image Sensor.

For the exhibit participants who want a glimpse of the future, Hynix will present its latest, cutting-edge technological achievements with ReRAM (Resistive RAM), PCRAM (Phase Change RAM), STT-RAM (Spin Transfer Torque RAM) and TSV (Through Silicon Via) technologies.

SK Telecom has always played an active role in advancing the development of global telecommunications market. As a GSMA board member, Ha Sung Min, President and CEO of SK Telecom, will participate in board meetings to promote interoperability between operators and more innovative services for the global consumers. Also, several executives from both of SK Telecom and SK Planet will be participating in various conferences and seminars.
Below are some of the key activities:
 Mobile Cloud: Operators Fight Back - Cloud & Network Intelligence featuring Dr. Byun Jae Woan, CTO and Head of Corporate R&D Group, SK Telecom
 Mobile Applications - Building for tomorrow: the evolution of app development featuring Kim Hoo-Jong, SVP of and Head of Global Tech. Research Institute, SK Planet
 Networks: Delivering Quality Of Experience, Despite Capacity Constraints featuring Ihm Jong-Tae, SVP and Head of Technology Policy Supporting TF, SK Telecom