LGU+ Partners with Google Cloud for 5G MEC Collaboration

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] LG Uplus announced on the 20th that it has agreed to cooperate with Google Cloud to explore the potential of mobile edge computing (MEC), a core 5G technology. The two companies will collaborate on edge cloud business strategies and discovering new businesses within the 5G MEC ecosystem.

MEC is a technology that installs small-scale data centers close to customers to reduce data transmission intervals and implement ultra-low latency services, which are key to 5G. Last October, LG Uplus applied MEC technology in a service that transmits preceding vehicle footage to rear vehicles to prevent autonomous vehicle collisions and demonstrated it.

Through this collaboration, the two companies plan to cooperate in creating the MEC service ecosystem, strengthening competitiveness in 5G MEC solution technologies, and developing additional applications. The MEC solutions developed by LG Uplus and Google Cloud operate based on LG Uplus’s 5G network.

Google Cloud plans to provide various solutions including its core technologies such as Kubernetes (an open-source system for automatic deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications), artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and data processing and analysis.

Hyun-Hoi Ha, Vice Chairman and CEO of LG Uplus, emphasized, "Utilizing LG Uplus’s excellent network, we are building a global partnership with Google Cloud to explore new business opportunities for 5G MEC. By leveraging MEC to transmit large volumes of data seamlessly, we will discover differentiated 5G services that can be applied overseas."

Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, said, "We are pleased to collaborate with LG Uplus to help enterprises harness the potential of 5G technology. Based on this innovative cooperation, we will explore various ways to utilize 5G and edge computing solutions to create business value across global operations, including Korea."