Huawei quietly launches 5G lab in South Korea

By Tony Chan

Huawei has opened its first 5G OpenLab in Seoul, South Korea – an event that was reportedly scaled back signi􀏐icantly due to escalating pressure by the US.

Unlike the typical fanfare that accompanies the launch of such facilities, the Seoul launch ceremony was not attended by any government of􀏐icial while a previously planned press conference was cancelled, according to the Korea Times. The local report went as far as to suggest that Huawei kept the event low-key in order to minimise exposure of its partners to its ongoing stand-off against the US government.

For its part, Huawei said the new site is designed to provide 5G testing environments and interoperability services for small-and-medium enterprises and local start ups. The “ultimate goal” of the site is “to build a healthy 5G ecosystem locally and
achieve shared success through collaboration.”

Specifically, the lab will address four primary application segments – cloud virtual reality/augmented reality, connected vehicles, robots and intelligent manufacturing. In the lab, Huawei said it has set up an end-to-end 5G network, including base stations, core networks and transport network for its partners to use for free.

Huawei also pledged US$5 million for the future operations of the lab. The Seoul facility joins Huawei’s global network of research and development facilities dedicated to 5G and other emerging technologies such as cloud computing and artificial intelligence. These facilities are located in key markets including Beijing, Moscow and Paris.

(This article first appeared in www.commsday.com)