5G is on the cards for Huawei and partnered South Korean service providers
Huawei has partnered up with South Korean service providers SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus to deliver 5G technology.
Sanqi Li, CTO of China-based Huawei Products and Solutions, said the company has entered into close relationships with three South Korean telecommunication companies -- SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus -- to establish 5G networks.
Though there are no official standards governing 5G connectivity yet, early reports have pointed to speeds as much as 1000 times faster than current 4G networks by 2020.
At the closing ceremony of the Startup Nations Summit 2014 in Seoul, the Huawei CTO said the company would be working closely with the service providers on 5G, while it was still undecided as to whether it would build an R&D centre in South Korea.
"Though it is in its early stage, we are considering the possibility of building R&D centre in South Korea," Li said after the summit's closing ceremony.
Kevin Ho, president of Huawei's Handset Product Line, said that the company was planning to build its 16th R&D lab in South Korea at a press conference earlier this month.
Li denied that the R&D centre plan was finalized.
Li said the Chinese IT giant was engaging closely with SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus on making 5G a reality in the near future. "We talked about more engagements in 5G network R&D and Internet of Things, among other things," Li said.