First domestic telecom to participate — sharing experience from defense 5G projects

NATO holds NWCSP meeting on defense communications standardization

Collaboration with Defense Ministry, KIDA and TTA to advance defense communications technology

KT Corp's Gwanghwamun Building West office. [Provided by KT Corp]
KT Corp's Gwanghwamun Building West office. [Provided by KT Corp]

KT Corp will participate in a NATO meeting for the first time among domestic telecommunications companies, marking a step toward full-scale global civil-military cooperation on applying 5G and 6G technology to defense.

KT Corp announced Monday that it will join the ninth session of NATO's Wireless Communications Standardization Project (NWCSP) as a 5G and 6G standardization committee member. The NWCSP is a civil-military cooperation project in which government agencies and civilian experts from NATO member and partner countries discuss the application and standardization of next-generation mobile communications technology in the defense sector.

On the domestic side, the Ministry of National Defense, KIDA and ICT standards body TTA are already participating. KT Corp will begin its involvement at this ninth session by dispatching 5G and 6G standardization experts.

The meeting, organized by the Ministry of National Defense and TTA, runs from Monday through Oct. 2. About 100 defense and government officials, telecommunications specialists and standards experts from home and abroad will attend to discuss how 5G and 6G technologies can be applied in the defense sector and the direction of next-generation defense communications standards development.

At the meeting, KT Corp will share the technology and deployment experience it has accumulated through its defense 5G projects with participating organizations. Drawing on its experience applying commercial 5G technology to defense, the company plans to exchange views on developing guidelines for introducing 5G- and 6G-based defense communications technology and on next-generation defense communications standardization.

Participants are expected to share updates on each country's 5G and 6G technology development and its application to defense. Standard documents covering the use of the latest communications technologies — including satellite communications and wireless backhaul — in the defense sector will also be reviewed.

Discussions are also expected to advance toward concrete agreements on technical standards that would allow different countries' communications technologies and systems to interoperate.

KT Corp also plans to strengthen its civil-military technology cooperation framework with the Ministry of National Defense and other relevant agencies. The company said it will continue to draw on the network deployment and operations experience gained through its defense 5G projects, as well as its 5G and 6G capabilities, to help advance defense communications technology and bolster the international standards competitiveness of South Korea's telecommunications and defense industries.

"Applying commercial mobile communications technologies such as 5G and 6G to the defense sector is a challenge that the civilian and defense communities must tackle together," said Kim Won-tae, head of KT Corp's Enterprise public and financial business division. "Through our participation in this meeting, we will further solidify civil-military cooperation with the Ministry of National Defense and other relevant agencies, and contribute to international standardization discussions on next-generation defense communications technology."


ko@heraldcorp.com