SKT steps up its metaverse expansion in Asia

• SK Telecom has ambitious plans for global expansion of ifland, its metaverse platform
• The telco has further expanded its partner ecosystem to enable the development of localised versions of its platform 
• It has sealed agreements with its Malaysian peer CelcomDigi and an IoT platform in the Philippines

SK Telecom (SKT) has high hopes for its metaverse platform, ifland, and to further boost its presence across the Asia Pacific region it has struck new partnerships in Malaysia and the Philippines as part of a wider ambition to achieve global leadership in the world of immersive experiences.

The South Korean operator announced in a translated statement that it has expanded its list of partners for ifland to include Malaysian telco CelcomDigi and Philippine internet of things (IoT) platform, Cherry.

Through the agreements, the partners will provide a locally-optimised metaverse platform: CelcomDigi and Cherry will focus on local brand partnerships, specialised marketing and providing primary customer support in their respective markets.

The goal is to accelerate the expansion of ifland into southeast Asia.

It’s worth noting that CelcomDigi had previously agreed to partner SKT on metaverse developments: In March 2023 the companies said they were collaborating on ifland’s expansion and the development of new business ideas – see News brief: SKT further expands its metaverse reach.

The head of SK Telecom’s metaverse division, Yang Maeng-seok (pictured above in a metaverse-styled avatar, right), described Malaysia and the Philippines as key markets for ifland’s international expansion plans. He added that through cooperation with local companies, alongside the introduction of AI, the company will be reborn as a ‘global AI metaverse’.

CelcomDigi’s chief innovation officer, Kugan Thirunavakarasu (pictured above in a metaverse-styled avatar, left), added that the companies will strive to innovate in the metaverse and to expand customer value with CelcomDigi’s network technology and AI-based solutions.

Beyond the Asia Pacific region, SKT added it is engaging with potential partners in the Americas while keeping a sharp focus on the synergy between metaverse and AI.

It also plans to enrich the experience for global users by adding more supported languages, such as Malay, Indonesian, Hindi and Spanish, in the first half of the year. A function that enables curated content recommendations according to customer characteristics by region is also in the works.

SKT’s metaverse partner list also includes Singaporean operator Singtel, Middle Eastern telco giant e& and German giant Deutsche Telekom.

- Yanitsa Boyadzhieva, Deputy Editor, TelecomTV