KT Corporation Joins New IP Agency; Promoting the Development of Next Generation IP Networks

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Nov 7, 2017) - The New IP Agency (NIA) announced today that KT Corporation, formerly Korea Telecom, has joined forces with the NIA to promote the development of next generation IP networks.

The NIA has been highly active in supporting interoperability and the development of standards for Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) since 2015. That mission has now been extended toward other technologies, including SDN and the automation of service provider networks. Membership in the NIA positions companies at the forefront of the virtualized global digital economy. Every member has a seat at the table as the NIA works with the industry to enable interoperability between different virtualization and automation solutions, and creates clearer business cases for the technology through extensive strategy development.

KT has played the leading role in constructing 3G/4G network infrastructure in Korea. KT has a plan to demonstrate 5G mobile communication. From a view point of a service provider, KT will take on a role in setting the standard requirements to be implemented into the 5G network equipment. KT is currently developing and deploying SDN/NFV network infrastructure in multiple service areas in Korea.

Through its membership in the NIA, KT will play a key role in driving a variety of initiatives to build industry consensus for meaningful and measurable interoperability that will support market confidence. These initiatives will include development of the industry's first comprehensive hierarchical taxonomy of next-generation communications -- a unique and exhaustive blueprint that will simplify and accelerate the design and construction and monetization of virtualized networks.

The NIA is also engaged in the creation of an online repository, of 'standardized service models,' provided by the world's leading carriers. These models allow service providers to take advantage of the business benefits of virtualizing services without having to wrestle with the underlying complexities of the NFV infrastructure technology.

The NIA will also launch the industry's first NFV certification program to validate interoperability between VNF services and applications and the NFV infrastructure solutions from all leading vendors. This will, for the first time, provide the necessary assurance that products from different vendors will work together seamlessly, and without having to establish that interoperability themselves, in every case, through expensive and time consuming laboratory testing.

"The New IP Agency is thrilled to announce KT's decision to join the NIA," said Steve Saunders, Secretary of the NIA, who recently resigned as his position as CEO of Light Reading to focus more time on the NIA's mission. "KT's membership in the NIA strengthens our position in the Asian theater, and will help us to build the industry consensus necessary to lift NFV, SDN, and IP networks toward a next generation, meeting the needs of service providers and customers with enhanced functionality, interoperability and reliability." 

As part of its overall mission, the NIA facilitates the sharing of ideas and debates through our participation in workgroups, conferences, trade shows, summits, online meetings and webinars, as well as through our Virtuapedia community, (virtuapedia.com), which has attracted a membership of around 15,000 professionals in the virtualization sector. The NIA is also very actively involved in independent testing of extraordinary, cutting edge/bleeding edge virtualized communications capabilities in collaboration with EANTC, an internationally recognized communications test center based in Berlin, Germany.

About KT
KT (Korea Telecom) is a leading telecommunication service provider in Korea. The headquarters of KT is located in Seoul with around 23,300 employees. The company develops and markets innovative wired/mobile telecommunication services and solutions for individual users and enterprises.

About the New IP Agency (NIA)
The New IP Agency (NIA) is a not-for-profit independent initiative providing information, education, analysis, community services and testing to support and accelerate the development of a global economy based on open, advanced, virtualized IP networks.