SK Telecom tackles 5G content business

South Korea's largest mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. aims to ramp up its 5G content business and foray into overseas markets to boost its presence in the global immersive media market.

The expansion will be spearheaded by Jump Studio, Asia's first mixed reality capture studio, set to be relocated to SK Telecom's headquarters building T-Tower in central Seoul, the company said on Oct. 20.

Earlier in April, SK Telecom and Microsoft Corp. jointly set up a mixed reality production studio combining Microsoft’s volumetric video capture technology with SK Telecom’s T Real Platform's spatial recognition and rendering technologies to offer a robust content portfolio, including augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR). 

Jump Studio’s competitive edge is owing to its drastically reduced time and costs compared to other industry players. Generally, 3D immersive content production is carried out on a monthly basis, whereas Jump Studio offers weekly production that cuts back on working hours and thereby reduces costs.

The immersive content market is one of the most attractive areas for mobile carriers, especially since 5G network is expected to facilitate the growth of extended reality content. Also, the spread of the coronavirus has given rise to the demand for non-contact and non-face-to-face services.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the global immersive content market is expected to surge from 32.6 trillion won ($28.7 billion) in 2017 to 411 trillion won ($363 billion) in 2023 – over a twelvefold increase in just six years.

SK Telecom plans to produce popular and attractive media content for entertainment, advertisement, sports and educational companies while also tapping into the global market by offering Jump AR and VR services to further grow its business.

Currently, Jump VR boasts around 3 million subscribers and around 600,000 monthly active users. The company is aiming to secure 10 million subscribers by 2021.

PARTNERSHIP WITH PCCW

The domestic mobile carrier will partner with Hong Kong-based telecommunications carrier PCCW to conduct local marketing activities for Jump’s AR and VR services, jointly produce and invest in content, alongside identifying new AR and VR business opportunities.

Moving forward, SK Telecom will roll out its immersive reality content services to Europe, North America, and other Asian countries.

SK Telecom also unveiled Virtual Meetup, a social communication service that allows up to 100 users to log in simultaneously and participate in conferences, performances and exhibitions. The service will be rolled out as early as this month via Jump VR app, and also offer access from non-VR devices as well as smartphones and computers  

Other local carriers have jumped on the immersive media content trend. Third-ranked Korean mobile carrier LG Uplus set up an AR studio last year, and plans to launch a second studio this year. The country's second-largest mobile carrier KT also provides educational solutions to corporates using AR glasses.

Write to Yun-jung Hong at yjhong@hankyung.com
Danbee Lee edited this article.