[Comprehensive] KT Targets Corporate and Public 5G Markets... Strengthens Work Networks with

KT has unveiled a 5G strategy aimed at the corporate and public sectors. On the 17th, KT disclosed its B2B- and B2G-exclusive 5G service strategy.

KT said about 8 years have passed since the commercialization of 5G, and that about 8 out of 10 mobile network (MNO) subscribers are using 5G. Accordingly, it said the scope of 5G use is expanding beyond personal services into corporate and public work environments.

As work-from-home and offsite work have increased, cases in which civil servants and corporate employees perform their duties outside the office have also expanded. With these changes, demand is rising for wireless networks that can deliver the same work environment anywhere, anytime, as in the office.

The spread of generative artificial intelligence (AI) use was also cited as a factor boosting related demand. At the same time, rising demands for security and access control have made it a challenge to establish a safe transmission environment for work data.

KT presented 5G standalone mode (5G SA) as the underlying technology to respond to these needs. Based on this, it plans to target the corporate and public markets with enterprise-dedicated 5G and a 5G work network as its core services.

Enterprise-dedicated 5G is a service that uses a corporate private network separated from commercial mobile networks. Its purpose is to support safer use of internal corporate systems.

To use the service, customer device registration is required. Access is provided through a dedicated gateway connected to the company's internal network.

Lee Myung-yu, executive director at KT's Enterprise Service Division, said the service supports shared internal use of data and voice for employees. He added that KT also provides a management portal and offers an 'Office Mobile' service that links smartphone office extension numbers.

KT plans to expand the scope of 5G SA-based enterprise wireless use to employees' mobile phones. In line with this trend, it plans to introduce 'App Slicing' within the year.

'App Slicing' is a function that separates the connection paths for work apps and personal apps on a single smartphone. The path for work apps connects to the corporate network via enterprise-dedicated 5G, while the path for personal apps connects to the general internet. This supports separation of the user environment.

The technology for applying App Slicing is 3GPP 5G SA standard URSP (UE Route Selection Policy). The URSP function selects a network slice for each app based on app identification information and also serves to select the data network path for each app.

Lee Hyun-soo, team leader of KT's Corporate Wireless AX Research Team, said the service was developed to be applicable to Samsung Electronics Galaxy phones based on Google Android. He explained that KT first prepared the network and that the initial target market is the Android ecosystem.

Lee said KT has laid the foundation for application in the Android ecosystem. However, he explained that when applying it to other manufacturers, such as the iPhone iOS environment, customized modifications for the operating system are required, and cooperation from the device and OS manufacturers is necessary for that application.

The 5G work network, which wireless-izes the wired work environment, is an enterprise wireless service that connects a customer company's internal network with KT's wireless network. The connection method for the 5G work network is a closed network based on dedicated lines.

The service is used by connecting the dedicated device 'Egg' to a laptop. This allows access to a secure internal work network even outside the office and enables a flexible work environment.

The new 5G work network was designed as a combination of enterprise-dedicated 5G and KT's in-house development work security solution, GMG. GMG is equipped with a function that performs multi-step verification of the device's unique identification number and USIM, thereby blocking access by unauthorized devices and users. Kim Woo-tae, executive director in charge of Telecom AX Research at the Future Network Lab, said this structure integrates the security of wired networks with the convenience of wireless networks.

KT applied 5G SA to the 5G work network. Another common point between the 5G work network and enterprise-dedicated 5G is the application of 5G SA. In addition, SA-based network slicing technology has been applied to the 5G work network, which separates general commercial networks from institution-dedicated networks and routes institutional work traffic to a dedicated network. As a result, the stability and security of the work network are improved.

This 5G work network supports laptops, multifunction printers, printers, and internet phones. Through this, wired-based work can be replaced with wireless. It can also respond relatively quickly and flexibly to frequent changes in the work environment, such as office rearrangements and meeting room moves.

KT will provide leased devices for the 5G work network starting on the 17th. This is intended to ease customers' burden of separately purchasing dedicated devices, and KT will directly provide the leased devices and take charge of operations, including real-time response in the event of a failure.

KT has also made it possible to selectively link third-party network-related services. The services in question are VDI, DaaS, and RBI, and the linkage criteria are tailored to the customer's budget and available scale.

KT built a work network linking the Gyeonggi Provincial Government and 7 local governments under its jurisdiction. The case won an excellence award at the 'Local Government Information and Communications Best Practices Presentation Contest' in September 2026, and the award was the Prime Minister's Award.

Source: IT DAILY · Seong Won-young
Original: https://www.itdaily.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=241687

References

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