South Korea’s leading wireless carrier, SK Telecom, announced on Monday that it has partnered with US-based Joby Aviation to develop flying cars in order to strengthen its position in urban air mobility (UAM) services.
The two companies signed an agreement to form a regular consultative team to boost cooperation in introducing air taxis in South Korea and to create “Mobility as a Service” (MaaS), which connects cars, connected car platforms, and business-to-customer services, according to SK Telecom.
“Close cooperation with top global players is essential to becoming a leader in future industries, which is driven by UAM, self-driving vehicles and robots,” CEO Ryu Young-sang said in a statement.
According to Yonhap, the partnership will accelerate South Korea’s long-term plan to commercialise UAM services by 2025 to help alleviate urban traffic congestion through the use of unmanned drone taxis.
SK Telecom has been accelerating the development of UAM services, collaborating with local firms and agencies to accelerate UAM service development and expand its services into other areas such as tourism and emergency response.
