South Korea’s top wireless carrier SK Telecom will increase its 5G roaming coverage in the world by adding popular geographies and partner telcos that support 5G next year, the company’s roaming business team leader Kim Nam-ho announced on Tuesday.

During a press conference held at Swisscom in Zurich, Kim said its 5G roaming service currently available only in Switzerland will add Italy, China and Finland within this year. According to the company’s plan for next year, the U.K. and Japan will be included in the first quarter and the U.S. and Germany in the second quarter, bringing the total number of service countries to 20.

Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand and Australia are next in the line but the exact timing will depend on 5G commercialization and device availability in target regions.

Customers will be able to access cloud-based streaming game services in real time overseas as they do in Korea under the roaming service, Kim said.

SK Telecom joined hands with Swisscom to launch their world’s first interstate 5G roaming on July 17. The service has since been used by some 3,000 consumers.

Kim also touched on the company’s elevation in 5G roaming technology, 5G SA (Stand Alone) roaming, which uses dedicated 5G systems for devices, base stations and core equipment. The new technology will double data transfer speed compared to current Non-Stand Alone technology that relies on the combination of 5G and 4G systems.

By Lee Yong-ik and Minu Kim

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