The Korea Radio Promotion Association (Korea, hereafter RAPA) and Anritsu Corporation (Japan) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on February 22, 2024, at Anritsu Headquarters defining their mutual cooperation on Beyond 5G (B5G) and 6th Generation Mobile Communication Systems (6G), which will be the next generations of communication standards.
Through this agreement, RAPA and Anritsu plan to cooperate in multiple fields to support the development of these technologies, such as configuring a test environment capable of validating the candidate frequency bands for B5G/6G, specifically the FR3 (7 GHz to 24 GHz) and the sub-THz band (100 GHz and above), as well as the technical cooperation from proof of concept (PoC) phase.
Starting this year, RAPA plans to establish the “Anritsu B5G/6G Test Lab” at its Song-do IoT Technical Support Center in Incheon where it will build a test infrastructure and gradually upgrade the installed equipment. This initiative will create an environment in South Korea where the verification of 6G mobile communication technologies can be conducted efficiently using Anritsu’s MT8000A 5G test equipment extended to 6G capability.
In addition, users of the Anritsu B5G/6G Test Lab, including B5G/6G antenna and module manufacturers, will be able to verify the concept verification from the phase of developing the basic technology in the B5G/6G field. With the recent launch of the 6G technology development project in Korea, it will also be possible to verify the results of related government R&D projects.
Song Jung-su, Vice President of RAPA stated, “This agreement will serve as an opportunity for RAPA and Anritsu to strengthen their leadership in the B5G/6G field. Based on RAPA’s verification infrastructure, we expect to be at the forefront of activating the domestic 6G industry and advancing mobile communication technologies in Korea by providing verification environments and conducting development verification in the B5G/6G field.”
Yu Hyun-kil, President of Anritsu Corporation, Ltd., Korea, expressed, “We look forward to contributing to the formation of an industry-academia-laboratory ecosystem for the B5G/6G fields by providing new verification environments and contributing to the development verification environment as we move beyond 5G. Anritsu aims to demonstrate growth as a specialist solution provider in the field of mobile communications, based on our ever-evolving base station simulator technologies.”
Takeshi Shima, Director, Senior Vice President, Test & Measurement Company President of Anritsu Corporation, stated, “Anritsu is engaged in fundamental research in the B5G/6G field and is confident that this agreement will be an important step in the development of the B5G/6G industry. Anritsu, in collaboration with its industry-leading partners, aims to become a highly reliable test solution provider in the field of “Next Generation Communications”, one of Korea’s national strategic technologies, and will contribute to the revitalization of the industry.”