SK Telecom plans LTE-Maritime network
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SK Telecom plans LTE-Maritime network

SK Telecom is set to launch what it claims will be the world’s first LTE-Maritime (LTE-M) network as part of a research project led by the country’s ministry of oceans and fisheries (MOF).

LTE-M is designed to enable high-speed mobile communications on ships approximately 100km from the shore, and the technology is expected to enhance the navigation safety of smaller ships with poor inbuilt communications systems.

In a statement, SK Telecom said that it plans to deploy the test network by May 2016 in the East Sea of Korea.

“Radio signals transmitted from a high-gain antenna located at altitude in the eastern coast will be received by a LTE-M router installed on a ship to be converted to Wifi,” the statement confirmed.

The LTE-M offshore antenna will be designed to withstand high-humidity, strong winds and a salt-laden atmosphere.

“SK Telecom will successfully deploy LTE-M, a high-speed maritime wireless communications network, by leveraging its extensive expertise in communications technology, and thereby contribute to the enhanced safety of ships,” concluded Choi Seung-won, head of SK Telecom’s network strategy office.

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