South Korean operator SK Telecom has tested interoperability between 5G Non Standalone (NSA) Core developed by Samsung Electronics and 5G base stations of Nokia and Ericsson. The test took place at the company’s 5G testbed located in its Bundang office building.

Since 2017, SK Telecom has been working with mobile operators AT&T and Orange, at 3GPP and NGMN, to develop interfaces for interoperability between diverse multi-vendor 5G network equipment. After selecting Samsung, Ericsson and Nokia as the preferred bidders for 5G equipment on 14 September this year, SK Telecom started applying and testing the interfaces to achieve multi-vendor interoperability.

SK Telecom can now install base stations of Nokia and Ericsson within the coverage of Samsung’s 5G Core. The 5G NSA Core used for the trial has been specially developed by SK Telecom and Samsung Electronics. SK Telecom has decided to also deploy new 5G NSA Core to further enhance its 5G service.