SK Telecom said it has “successfully tested its 5G system at 28GHz in the outdoor environment”, giving results that it said will be an “important asset” as it moves toward building 5G pilot networks by the end of this year.

The operator has been working on millimetre wave 5G systems since last year, with partner Samsung Electronics. The partners have looked at issues such as service coverage, transmission speed, latency, and radio wave strength.

Technologies applied to the test include transmitter, receivers and antennas designed to effectively transmit radio signals in the 28GHz band, and 3D beamforming, which is “the key technology that compensates radio propagation path loss in the higher frequency bands”.

SK Telecom said it began developing 5G specifications last year, and intends to discuss its efforts as part of the 5G Open Trial Specification Alliance, which also includes NTT Docomo, KT and Verizon as members.