SK Telecom to team up with Singapore's Singtel for metaverse venture

SK Telecom Co. on Tuesday said it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Singapore's top telecom provider Singtel Group on joint business operations in the metaverse.

Based in Singapore, Singtel is a global telecom giant that offers wired and wireless communication services such as mobile and high-speed internet to 21 countries like Australia, India, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. The company is Singapore's top provider of wired and wireless services and has an estimated subscriber base of 770 million worldwide.

Under their MOU, both companies agreed to promote business cooperation in the metaverse in Singapore and discuss related joint projects in major Asia-Pacific markets.

Using Singtel's extensive experience in business overseas, SK Telecom plans to gain data and insight on the global market. The two sides will also create synergy in joint projects abroad through SK Telecom's sharing with Singtel the service capacity of E-Friend, the Korean company's metaverse platform run in Korea.

Both companies will first formulate localization strategies to provide the E-Friend service to Singaporean customers. For example, they will utilize a joint marketing approach using a virtual space modeled after Singapore's physical appearance and an avatar customized for the island country's residents for Singtel customers.

The long-term plan is for their metaverse cooperation to continue by expanding their range of targets to not only Singapore but also major Asia-Pacific economies. Along with the metaverse, they will seek collaboration in new sectors that each side is pursuing like quantum cryptography.

SK Telecom Chief Development Officer Ha Min-yong said, "Through this cooperation with Singtel, SK Telecom's metaverse unit can enter the Asia-Pacific region," adding, "This strategic partnership with Singtel will allow us to create a successful case study on taking the metaverse global."

Write to Seung-Woo Lee at leeswoo@hankyung.com