SKB Wins 2.4 Billion KRW Contract for Intelligent Hyper-Connected Network Leading and Expansion Project

Final Selection of Project Operators for the Ministry of Science and ICT and NIA Public Contest Projects

SK Broadband consortium announced on the 4th that it has been selected as the final operator for the "Intelligent Hyper-Connected Network Leading Expansion Project." From the left, Norma Kim Jong-hoon, Head of Department; Endpoint Lab CEO Jo Yong-deok; Ato Research Vice President Park Seung-nam; SK Broadband Kim Ju-young, ConnectInfraCO Finance Manager; Monitor Lab Head Yoon Seung-won; and Korea Industrial Technology Protection Association Team Leader Kim Sang-beom are posing for a commemorative photo at the business agreement ceremony.

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] SK Broadband announced on the 4th that the consortium it leads has been selected as the final project operator in the '2022 Intelligent Hyperconnected Network Leading and Expansion' competition promoted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Information Society Agency (NIA).

Accordingly, this consortium, consisting of SK Broadband, four small and medium-sized enterprises with information security software technology, and the Korea Industrial Technology Protection Association, will be able to undertake and carry out a national project worth a total of 2.4 billion KRW.

Intelligent hyperconnected networks refer to networks that efficiently operate and manage various wired and wireless networks such as 5G, Internet of Things (IoT) networks, and Wi-Fi using software control technology rather than hardware. It is a core infrastructure supporting the Fourth Industrial Revolution era, and the government has been conducting leading and expansion pilot projects since 2017.

This year, the project task assigned to the SK Broadband consortium is the 'SDN/NFV (Software Defined Networking/Network Function Virtualization) pilot expansion,' a technology that operates and manages networks based on software and virtualization.

SDN/NFV refers to technology that implements network functions based on software and virtualization and manages and controls traffic and services. Compared to existing hardware-based infrastructure, it has the advantage of being efficient and reducing management costs. The consortium plans to utilize this SDN/NFV technology to establish a foundation for discovering and demonstrating various business models in the future.

As the lead company of the consortium, SK Broadband will provide infrastructure support and overall project management, leveraging the capabilities of participating companies such as MonitorLab (developing Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) platform), AtoResearch (domestic large-capacity SDN), EndpointLab (demonstration of smart home network separation security solutions), and Norma (application of quantum-resistant encryption and entrusted research by SK Telecom).

SK Broadband expects that through participation in this project, it will secure network competitiveness in both public and private sectors and create new business opportunities in the information security service domain in the future.

Lee Bang-yeol, head of SK Broadband Connect Infrastructure Business, said, "We are pleased to participate in the consortium with companies possessing the best information security software technologies," adding, "We will actively engage in the transition to intelligent hyperconnected network infrastructure in the public and private sectors in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution."