TVU and South Korea’s KT Corp Partner in 5G UHD Broadcast Network

KT held trial 5G services during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February 2018.

TVU Networks, specialising in live IP systems, and South Korea’s main telecom company KT Corp have formed a partnership to bring UHD broadcast over KT’s 5G enterprise network. Under terms of the agreement, KT and TVU will work collaboratively to establish an enterprise 5G network and related broadcast capabilities in Korea. 

Formerly known as Korea Telecom, KT held pioneering trial 5G services during the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games in February 2018. KT also broadcast live the last concert of K-pop group Wanna One on its IPTV service, Olleh TV, earlier this year. The broadcast was delivered through set-top boxes and mobile devices using the 5G network. KT is expected to entirely commercialise and launch the network in April 2019.

TVU Networks has been contributing to 5G development for some time, adding 5G support to its line of transmitters at NAB in 2018. TVU continues to collaborate with regional providers around the world in their 5G deployment efforts, and continuously looks for more ways to implement 5G wireless connectivity and transmission within its video over IP systems.

TVU One HEVC transmitter

Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS), one of Korea’s three major broadcasting companies, is working with KT to develop the broadcast capabilities of this new 5G network. SBS is a customer of TVU and introduced their IP and network capabilities to KT.

CEO of TVU Networks Paul Shen said, “Video is now what most people watch on their smart phones, but to genuinely improve the quality, services offered and accessibility of video requires the low latency, high speed and extreme connectivity and data capacity that 5G achieves. The data routes of the 5G network’s backbone align with our ability to acquire, manage and deliver 4K video over IP.”

 KT will supply technical support such as 5G device standards and a testing environment, and TVU Networks will work with KT to establish 4K UHD broadcasting and services that meet KT’s device standards.   www.tvunetworks.com