BARCELONA, Spain — South Korean telecommunications giant SK Telecom is planning to launch a flying taxi service in 2025 and expects it to generate “significant” revenue going forward, a senior executive told CNBC.
Last yr, SK Telecom and U.S. firm Joby Aviation inked a tie-up to develop air taxis for the South Korean market. Joby Aviation is a maker of so-called electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles. These electric flying vehicles are a seen by advocates as a method to transport people around dense cities and avoid traffic.
The South Korean government is pushing forward with attempting to commercialize air taxis by 2025.
SK Telecom and Joby Aviation want to benefit from the federal government backing. Ha Min-yong, chief development officer of SK Telecom, told CNBC in an interview Sunday that the corporate’s air taxi service can be made available commercially “sometime in the midst of 2025,” before expanding to other areas like logistics.
“So by 2025, if we’re capable of prove that the service quality is suitable to most people with the protection and in addition security, then they [the government] will allow the operator to expand the realm of the service, including logistics and tourism in addition to medical-related services,” Ha told CNBC on the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, Spain.
SK Telecom is trying to expand its business beyond being a standard mobile carrier and has its sights set on recent areas akin to artificial intelligence and flying taxis. These aircraft would require connecting to next-generation 5G networks to operate and fly, eventually autonomously. That is where SK Telecom’s area of experience is available in.
SK Telecom has partnered with U.S. firm Joby Aviation to bring flying taxis to South Korea in 2025. SK Telecom is trying to diversify its business model to recent areas including urban air mobility and artificial intelligence.
Arjun Kharpal | CNBC
While this kind of transport is at an early stage, consultancy Roland Berger forecasts that there can be nearly 160,000 unpiloted electrical drones in use worldwide by 2050. They may generate an annual revenue of nearly $90 billion, the corporate says.
SK Telecom wants a slice of the pie and Ha said that if all goes well, air taxis could possibly be a giant revenue driver for the corporate, “but not immediately.”
“So for the following a minimum of five [to] seven years, we want to ensure that that the service that we’re going to offer to, you already know, society and community is secure enough,” Ha said.
“Once it’s accepted thoroughly by the community and society, then we consider that it’ll generate a major amount of revenue.”
