Turning to Arirang now, virtual reality devices and 5G networks have been taking center stage at the biggest mobile tech show of the year... the Mobile World Congress,... which kicked off in Barcelona on Monday. Kim Ji-yeon is there and filed this report.
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Barcelona's Fira Gran Via, Feb. 22-25

"Mobile is Everything."

This is the theme for this year's Mobile World Congress.

It conveys that innovation in the mobile sector is reaching into our daily lives... and that there are very few things being created today that don't somehow have a mobile component to them,... and this includes the virtual reality sector.

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Kim Ji-yeon

"This year's MWC has put the spotlight on VR devices. So no surprise, the world's largest smartphone maker Samsung Electronics even has its own VR experience corner."

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Samsung eyes virtual reality sector for growth

At Samsung's 4D Experience Center,... visitors wait in a long line so they can take a virtual ride on a snow vehicle or rollercoaster.

Users put on the Gear VR headsets which generate 360-degree images with every move and turn that's made.

The Korean tech giant is eyeing the VR sector for growth... teaming up with Facebook for its VR contents.

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Faster connectivity with 5G network

Still, the VR sector remains in its infant stage... and needs more user-friendly VR devices and faster connectivity to produce higher resolutions.

For that, companies like Korea-based SK Telecom have introduced a fifth generation "5G" network... an improved version from the current fourth generation LTE network.

Interview
Na Min-soo / Senior manager of 5G tech lab, SK Telecom
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"It's going to be more than one hundred times faster than the 4G network. For example, if we download a HD movie, first you can spend around 60 seconds or so around one minute, but if you use the 5G network, within one second you can download it."

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Hong Myung-ho

Another company that's providing 5G connectivity is U.S.-based Qualcomm.
They say their annual trip to Barcelona is a great business opportunity.

Interview
Sanjeev Athalye / Senior director of product mgmt., Qualcomm
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"So we actually speak to operators and vendors from around the world throughout the year. From the MWC it gives us a great opportunity where we can have all these influential members from the international community in one place and makes it easy for us to display what we're working on in one place rather than having to travel around the world at different times."

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Companies forming global standard platform for 5G network

SK Telecom and its local rival KT Corporation led discussions at the MWC to formulate a global standard platform for the fifth generation network ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympics that will be hosted by South Korea's alpine town of PyeongChang.

The companies plan to provide full 5G services at sporting venues during the games.

Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News, Barcelona.