SK Telecom
South Korea's largest mobile carrier (KOSPI:017670, NYSE:SKM) and the operator-side anchor of Korea's commercial quantum-network programme. This dossier covers SKT's *own* quantum activities — its Quantum Tech Lab (est. 2011), the QKD overlay deployed on its commercial 5G/LTE backbone by SK Broadband, the QRNG integration into the Samsung Galaxy Quantum line, and SKT's ITU-T/ETSI standardisation work — not the underlying hardware, which is supplied by ID Quantique (separate dossier; formerly an SKT/SK Square subsidiary, controlling stake transferred to IonQ in May 2025). SKT is now a strategic partner of both IDQ and IonQ via a ~3.1% IonQ equity position taken in the same transaction.
Timeline
Current flagship
SK Broadband nationwide QKD overlay — Commercial QKD-secured backbone — Seoul-Daejeon-Daegu trunk (~330 km on 5G/LTE) plus the 800 km 48-agency government network operated under "Quantum-as-a-Service" by SK Broadband, all using IDQ Cerberis-class hardware
Milestones
- 2025-05SKT/SK Square swap entire 56.9% IDQ stake for ~3.1% of IonQ (~$228M / KRW 330B all-stock); SKT becomes IonQ strategic partner and continues using IDQ hardware on its QKD network
- 2025-02SKT signs MoU with IonQ on AI + quantum computing
- 2024-08Galaxy Quantum 5 launched on SKT — fifth-generation QRNG-equipped handset (28 August 2024)
- 2023-12SKT × Thales trial PQC on a commercial 5G standalone network — extends quantum-safe protection from QKD-secured trunk to the radio-access edge
- 2023-08SKT's QKD-network interworking specs (SDN control for multi-vendor QKD; framework for inter-operator QKD federation) approved as ITU-T study items
- 2023-06Galaxy Quantum 4 launched (15 March 2023) — fourth-generation QRNG handset on SKT
- 2022-06SK Broadband completes phase one of nationwide QKD network — 800 km backbone protecting communications between 48 Korean government agencies
- 2020-05Galaxy A Quantum launched on SKT — marketed as the first 5G smartphone with an embedded QRNG chip (2.5 × 2.5 mm IDQ Quantis); pre-order 15-21 May, launch 22 May 2020
- 2019SKT applies QKD to the Seoul-Daejeon section of its commercial 5G/LTE backbone — what the company described as the first commercial QKD-secured 5G mobile network
- 2018-02SKT invests ~KRW 70B (~US$65M) to acquire majority (>50%) stake in ID Quantique
- 2017-02SKT signs cooperation agreement with Nokia on QKD integration into commercial optical transport
- 2014SKT commercialises its first in-house QKD device
- 2011SKT establishes its Quantum Tech Lab — start of in-house quantum-cryptography R&D programme
Roadmap
- 2026 Continued commercial expansion of QKD trunk routes via SK Broadband; integration of QKD with PQC for end-to-end quantum-safe service on 5G SA networks source ↗
- 2026-2027 Co-development of AI + quantum-computing services with IonQ (PAA, AIDC, GPUaaS, Edge AI) under the Feb-2025 MoU; integration of IonQ trapped-ion compute access for Korean enterprise customers source ↗
Capability details
QKD
- Protocols
- BB84, decoy-state
- Rate vs distance
- 10 kbps secure key rate over 50 km dedicated quantum channel; AES-256 line encryption multiplexed to 120 Gbps in commercial deployment
Networking
- Role
- operator
6 unverified fields
-
key_personnel— Public-facing head of SKT's Quantum Tech Lab is not identified by name on the current newsroom or IR pages; Kwak Seung-hwan was the quoted lead in earlier 2017-2020 announcements but the current incumbent could not be confirmed in the sources reviewed. -
shareholders— Beyond SK Inc.'s 30.57% controlling block (per FY2024 annual report), per-holder percentages for the public float were not separately extracted; KOSPI:017670 has a widely-held float with NPS and major asset managers among the top institutional holders. -
modalities.qkd.deployed_demos.metro_count -
business_units.Quantum Tech Lab.lead— Current lab head not separately disclosed in SKT public sources. -
revenue -
headcount
People
References
- press https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sk-telecom-to-invest-in-id-quantique-the-global-leader-in-quantum-safe-crypto-solutions-300603977.html SKT KRW 70B investment in IDQ — original 26 Feb 2018 announcement
- press https://news.sktelecom.com/en/1291 Galaxy A Quantum launch (May 2020) — first 5G handset with embedded QRNG chip
- press https://www.idquantique.com/idq-and-sk-broadband-complete-phase-one-of-nation-wide-korean-qkd-network/ SK Broadband 800 km nationwide QKD network — 48 government agencies, 27 QKD links, 10 trusted relays
- press https://www.idquantique.com/sk-telecom-continues-to-protect-its-5g-network-with-quantum-cryptography-technologies/ Seoul-Daejeon QKD trunk on commercial 5G/LTE — performance numbers (10 kbps over 50 km, 120 Gbps AES-256 multiplex)
- press https://www.sktelecom.com/en/press/press_detail.do?idx=1633 SKT × IonQ MoU on AI + quantum (Feb 2025)
- press https://www.ionq.com/news/ionq-completes-acquisition-of-id-quantique-cementing-leadership-in-quantum IonQ closes acquisition of the SKT/SK Square IDQ stake (6 May 2025) — SKT becomes IonQ strategic partner
- blog https://news.sktelecom.com/en/853 SKT newsroom "Path towards a quantum-safe future" — Quantum Tech Lab history (est. 2011, first QKD device 2014)
- press https://news.sktelecom.com/en/686 SKT's QKD-network interworking specs approved as ITU-T study items (Aug 2023)
- filing https://www.sktelecom.com/img/eng/persist_report/20250808/SK_Telecom_Annual_Report_2024_ENG_F_0808.pdf SK Telecom Annual Report 2024 — SK Inc. 30.57% stake, 214,790,053 shares outstanding