KT to build autonomous vehicle cluster in Pangyo
KT has won a license to build the world’s first autonomous vehicle cluster in the tech-savvy startup district of Pangyo in Gyeonggi Province, the company said Sunday.
The fixed-line operator plans to build a core telecom infrastructure — including a fifth-generation (5G) wireless network and big data platforms — for the 20 billion won ($26.16 million) project, set to be finished by the end of 2019.
The company was able to win the contract from the state-run “Pangyo Zero City” project in recognition for its expertise in managing big data and a series of internet of things (IoT) network services, the company explained.
The cluster will cover 43.2 square kilometers in size. KT said it plans to conduct a pilot 5G network service this year before successfully establishing the driverless vehicle town by 2019.
The company will provide what it calls hybrid vehicle-to-everything (V2X) network services whose two building blocks include a security-enhanced long-term-evolution (LTE) network and wireless access for vehicle environments (WAVE).
The hybrid network will allow KT to smoothly analyze and manage the enormous amount of big data coming from autonomous cars. The datasets will then be used to help vehicles monitor road conditions and pedestrians, according to the company.
“We are teaming up with our big data software development subsidiary, KT NexR, to lead the upcoming hyper-connected 5G era,” a company official said. “When the project ends, this will help take 5G-related technologies and components to the next level.”
In a bid to find untapped revenue areas, the company unveiled its vision of generating 500 billion won in annual sales in its connected car business by 2022.
Amid sluggish growth in the local telecom market, KT and its home-turf rivals — SK Telecom and LG Uplus — are intensifying their rivalry to engage in emerging tech areas, including the IoT, 5G and driverless vehicles.