Home delivery has become the emerging playing field for South Korean wireless carriers boasting of fastest 5G networking in the world.

SK Telecom Co. teamed up with Woowa Brothers, the operator of the country’s largest food delivery app Baedal Minjok on Tuesday for collaboration in technology to run a fleet of delivery robots on 5G-powered solutions.

The two companies will combine SK Telecom’s expertise in 5G multi-access computing (MEC) cloud network and Woowa Brothers’ robots to build an unmanned delivery system. They will work together to upgrade Woowa Brothers’ outdoor delivery robot “Delidrive” using 5G technology. They also plan to employ 5G MEC technology on the Woowa Brothers’ other delivery platforms, including indoor food serving robot “Deliplate,” indoor floor-moving robot “Delitower,” and outdoor delivery robot “Delidrive.”

KT Corp. joined hands with Mesh Korea, the operator of food delivery app Vroong, in June to launch a new delivery service that promises customers quick home delivery within an hour. The service combines a quick and easy mobile ordering system that takes less than a minute for placing an order, as claimed by the company.

The telecom company has also introduced 5G-backed, autonomous delivery carts at its logistics center.

LG Uplus Corp. currently offers a premium one-stop phone purchase and delivery service. When a customer purchases a new smartphone through the mobile carrier’s online shop, the company activates the phone and delivers it to the customer. The company plans to release an upgraded phone delivery service, which offers customer supports such as assistance on transferring data from old phone, later this month.

By Lee Yong-ik and Cho Jeehyun

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]