KT to Pursue NATO Defense Communications Standardization

[Financial News] KT will become the first South Korean telecommunications operator to directly participate in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)'s defense communications standardization project for fifth- and sixth-generation (5G and 6G) mobile communications. Drawing on its technology and deployment experience from defense 5G projects, the company will help establish international standards for next-generation defense communications technology.
KT announced on the 28th that it will participate as a 5G and 6G standardization committee member in the ninth meeting of NWCSP, NATO's defense communications standardization project.
NWCSP is a civil-military cooperation project in which government agencies and private-sector experts from NATO member and partner countries discuss the use and standardization of next-generation mobile communications technology in the defense sector. The project holds three in-person meetings annually. Its eighth meeting, held in May, took place in San Diego, California.
The ninth meeting will be held from today through October 2 at KT Gwanghwamun Building West in Seoul, under the direction of the Ministry of National Defense and the Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA). About 100 people, including officials from defense and government agencies in South Korea and abroad as well as telecommunications and standards experts, will attend.
In South Korea, the Ministry of National Defense, the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA), and TTA are participating in NWCSP. Starting with this meeting, KT will dispatch 5G and 6G standardization experts and begin taking part in mobile communications standardization activities for the defense sector. Participants will share updates on 5G and 6G technology development and defense applications in their respective countries. They will also review standard documents for applying advanced communications technologies, including satellite communications and wireless backhaul, to the defense sector. The meeting is expected to address technical standards for connecting and operating communications technologies and systems that differ from country to country.
KT will share the technology and network deployment and operation experience it has accumulated through defense 5G projects. Based on its experience applying commercial 5G technology to the defense sector, the company plans to offer input on guidelines for introducing 5G- and 6G-based defense communications technology and on the standardization of next-generation defense communications.
Through its participation in NWCSP, KT will also strengthen civil-military technology cooperation with the Ministry of National Defense and other relevant institutions. The company aims to leverage its 5G and 6G capabilities to advance defense communications technology and improve the ability of South Korea's telecommunications and defense industries to respond to international standards.
Won Tae Kim, executive vice president and head of KT's Enterprise Public and Financial Business Division, said, "We will further solidify civil-military cooperation with the Ministry of National Defense and other relevant institutions and actively contribute to discussions on the international standardization of next-generation defense communications technology."
[email protected] Hye-rim Choi Reporter