SK transmits 5G, mobile edge computing-based TV signals

South Korea’s SK Telecom Co. has become the world’s first company to transmit television signals on the 5G and mobile edging computing (MEC) platform, set to usher in an era of ultra-high-definition (UHD) broadcast services, the company said on Sunday.

The mobile network operator on May 26 transmitted broadcast content to viewers in the Seoul Metropolitan Area for test services on a UHD channel operated by the national Korean Broadcasting System.

To launch the test broadcast, SK developed a virtual broadcast transmission system on the MEC platform, jointly with KBS and CAST.ERA, a joint venture between SK Telecom and Sinclair Broadcast Group, the largest US terrestrial broadcasting company.

MEC, also known as multi-access edge computing, moves the computing of data traffic and services from a centralized cloud and closer to the customer, thereby reducing latency and enhancing the image quality for end-users.

The test broadcast used SK Telecom’s self-developed artificial intelligence (AI) chip SAPEON X220, designed to process AI tasks faster and use less power.

The chip allows for converting the TV transmission scheme to a higher resolution with 8K UHD, currently the highest resolution for TVs, from 4K full high definition in real-time.

SK will continue to cooperate with Sinclair Broadcast Group and KBS to introduce the 5G and MCE-based broadcast services to other countries, SK said in a statement. 

SK Telecom also demonstrated the transmission of wireless TV signals based on the ATSC 3.0 technology for viewers in Seoul and neighboring Gyeonggi Province. It teamed up with Hyundai Mobis Co., an automotive parts maker, to provide the test services.

The ATSC 3.0 is the US digital TV standard for UHD TV services, providing viewers with clearer and better-defined images and allowing telecommunication companies to easily gather view data.

Both of the test broadcast services are meaningful in that the mobile carrier has resolved technical challenges for UHD broadcasts and will speed up the introduction of such services, SK said.

Write to Sung-Soo Bae at baebae@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article.