SK Broadband Selected as Backbone Network Builder and Operator for 'National Convergence Network'

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] SK Broadband announced on the 29th that it has won the 'Next-Generation National Convergence Network Backbone Construction and Operation Project,' a core infrastructure of the next-generation national communication network, and has signed the final contract with the National Information Resources Service under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

Until now, the government operated national communication networks individually by each ministry, but in the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution represented by artificial intelligence (AI) and big data, it decided to build a next-generation national convergence network that connects 48 government ministries into a single backbone network to innovate public services.

SK Broadband was selected as the primary network operator, playing the most critical role in this project. The primary network is the main line for operations, and the secondary network is the redundant line.

An SK Broadband official evaluated, "Winning this national convergence network backbone construction and operation project is the largest-scale project won in the public market since the company's establishment," adding, "It is a great achievement that proves the excellent technology and competitiveness accumulated as a long-term telecommunications operator."

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the purpose of this national convergence network backbone construction is to increase the operational efficiency of network resources and strengthen the security of sensitive information held by the state.

Lee Bang-yeol, Head of SK Broadband's Enterprise Division, said, "The key to winning this project was the decision to apply next-generation network technologies such as T-SDN and quantum cryptography communication, which SK Broadband and SK Telecom possess, to the national convergence network."

SK Telecom and SK Broadband have been researching and developing T-SDN technology to advance their wired and wireless networks. This technology virtualizes and intelligently controls physical communication networks using software technology. It has been continuously advanced and applied in the construction and operation of wired and wireless networks for 5G services recently.

Quantum cryptography communication is considered the safest existing security technology, fundamentally impossible to hack or replicate. SK Broadband plans to apply SK Telecom's quantum cryptography technology to the national convergence network construction as well. This will make South Korea the first country in the world to have a national infrastructure network in the public sector applying quantum cryptography communication technology.

SK Broadband plans to complete the backbone network construction by March 2021 according to the government plan. Sequentially, 48 central government ministries will be connected to the national convergence network backbone.

The head of the enterprise division said, "With the birth of the national backbone network, the public market is shifting from an oligopoly system to a competitive system," and added, "The national convergence network project, along with the submarine cable project and the Saemangeum data center, will play a significant role as a new growth engine for SK Broadband."