SK Telecom plans to extend its 150Mbps LTE-Advanced network nationwide by the end of the year, and has revealed it has secured the bandwidth required for its planned tri-band LTE-A upgrade.
The operator will build additional 1.8-GHz base stations across South Korea to complement its existing nationwide 800-MHz LTE network.
SK Telecom launched 150Mbps LTE-A services in Seoul and the CBDs of 42 other cities in June last year.
The expanded rollout will allow the operator to conduct its planned 225Mbps LTE-A upgrade by aggregating its 10 MHz of 800-MHz spectrum and its 20MHz of 1.8-GHz.
SK Telecom also announced it has been granted approval to use 10 MHz from the 2.1-GHz band for LTE, paving the way for a further upgrade based on the tri-band carrier aggregation technology the operator has been developing.
By combining the three LTE wavelengths, the company hopes to introduce LTE-A services supporting speeds of up to 300Mbps. SK Telecom said it plans to start deploying 2.1-GHz LTE base stations in Q2, to ensure it will be ready to commercialize the network once compatible handsets are available.
SK Telecom rival LG U+ launched LTE-A services in July 2013, while KT introduced LTE-A in September.