SK Telecom has recently announced the launch of its metaverse platform in 49 countries and regions
South Korea’s largest telco, SK Telecom, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Asian communications technology group, Singtel, to jointly grow their metaverse businesses in some Asian markets, starting with Singapore.
As part of this strategic agreement, Singtel will share its 5G and other technology expertise across the Asian Pacific region, while SK Telecom will provide its insights from the operation of its metaverse platform, ifland, in Korea, as well as metaverse-related technologies.
The partners say this involves the development of virtual versions of places in Singapore, customized avatars of locals and organization of exclusive events for Singtel customers to be jointly promoted in-market to consumers and enterprises.
“This partnership will help showcase the Singtel network’s ultra-low latency, high speed and stable connectivity which is critical to creating an optimal immersive experience in the metaverse. Together with SK Telecom, we will help drive innovation and unlock new digital use cases in ifland, creating growth opportunities for enterprises and enriching experiences for consumers. We’re excited to kick this off in Singapore and in time, expand across the region,” said Anna Yip, CEO of the consumer division at Singtel.
The two companies will also explore collaborative opportunities in areas such as quantum cryptography, or advanced data encryption, to build safer networks against emerging threats.
“Through cooperation with Singtel, we will be expanding our metaverse business into the Asian Pacific region,” said Ha Min-Yong, chief development officer at SK Telecom. “We will work closely with Singtel to create success stories for our metaverse service in the global markets.”
Last week, the Korean carrier announced that its metaverse platform, “ifland”, simultaneously launched in 49 countries and regions throughout the world. With the global launch of ifland, SK Telecom said it will actively utilize K-pop content, develop content with overseas partners and strengthen communication features to shape ifland into a global social metaverse platform.
The global version of ifland supports English, Chinese and Japanese, and it is available for both Android and iOS smartphone users.
This global expansion of ifland comes after SK Telecom launched its existing Korean language service in July 2021. Since then, it has experienced 8.7 million downloads in its first year of operation. As of October 2022, ifland had 12.8 million users.
Earlier this month, Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo announced an agreement with SK Telecom to collaborate on the enhancement of their respective “smart-life businesses” and as well as communications infrastructure technologies.
In the smart-life field, DoCoMo and SKT say they will discuss joint production of original content for their respective video distribution platforms and leverage their video-business synergies for expanded presence on a global basis.
Meanwhile, in metaverse-related services, the two operators plan to consider opportunities to jointly produce virtual content, including 3D models, volumetric videos and virtual cities, as well as explore possibilities for connecting their respective platforms over the long term.
