Huawei and South Korean mobile operator LG Uplus established a mobile innovation centre in Seoul for the development of LTE-Advanced and other wireless technologies.

The centre will give LG Uplus the means to provide “the most advanced, high-quality and cost competitive services to customers”, according to a statement.

Work will focus on LTE-A carrier aggregation, innovation around small cells and network quality, 5G technology, and the development of in-building equipment.

Kim Sun Tae, executive VP of service and development at LG Uplus, said the centre will provide both companies with “an increased competitive advantage in the ICT market”.

Yang Chaobin, chief marketing officer of Huawei Wireless Networks, added that industry cooperation like the partnership with LG Uplus makes it easier to deliver on its commitment of “bringing the world’s most advanced mobile broadband services to more people worldwide”.

The companies signed a memorandum of understanding for the partnership on 30 July.

South Korean operators are already leading the way in terms of LTE-Advanced development and deployment.

Back in June, LG Uplus completed what it claimed was the world’s first “commercial network field trial” of tri-band LTE carrier aggregation, using equipment supplied by Huawei.

South Korea’s largest operator SK Telecom quickly followed with the commercial launch of LTE-Advanced services providing (theoretical peak) download speeds of up to 225 Mb/s through the use of carrier aggregation.