Russia’s MTS and South Korea’s KT Corp are to form a new partnership to develop data centers in Russia.

The two telcos this week announced that they have signed a memorandum of strategic cooperation to develop new business directions, including building data centers and joint AI-based solutions, as well as media content projects.

According to the terms of the agreement, MTS plans to leverage KT’s expertise as South Korea’s largest data center operator in building and managing MTS’ cloud facilities in Russia. The companies didn't detail any potential plans for new facilities.

The companies also plan to develop joint solutions leveraging AI technology, combining KT’s GiGa Genie voice recognition service and MTS AI’s solutions in video analytics. The memorandum also provides for joint production and global distribution of media content under a partnership between MTS’s KION multimedia platform and KT’s subsidiaries StudioGenie and Seezn.

“MTS has gained the opportunity to learn from and work together with our Korean partners, who bring first-rate expertise in localizing data processing and storage for global Internet services,” said MTS president & CEO Viacheslav Nikolaev. “On our side, MTS’s ecosystem can offer unique capabilities in developing and deploying computer vision and video analytics, which are of interest to our partners. And, of course, MTS and KT’s combined audience of tens of millions of viewers can get expanded access to Russian and Korean films — and in the future to our joint media content.”

KT President Yun Kyounglim added: “By collaborating with MTS, Russia’s largest telecom operator, we have the opportunity to expand Digico KT’s capabilities globally. Based on Korea’s best IDC business competency and AI capability accumulated by AI One Team, we will make our best efforts to lead the global market, and we look forward to contributing to the cultural development of the two countries by sharing K-contents recognized worldwide.”

This week also saw KT announces plans to develop a new subsea cable in partnership with Savills Korea. The two companies signed an MoU to build and operate a new subsea optical cable with a 9,000km section that connects South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Singapore. The telco currently operates the Asia-Pacific Gateway (APG) and the New Trans-Pacific Cable (NCP).

KT Corp. opened a new data center – the company’s 14th – in the Guro area of Seoul in May 2021. The facility – leased from local colo provider Dreammark One – can accommodate 335 racks. The company opened its 13th facility, known as KT DX IDC Yongsan, in Seoul the year before. The seven-story building has six underground floors that have a total space of 48,000 sq m (516,600 sq ft). In February 2021, KT Corp signed a memorandum of understanding with Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH) to build data centers overseas in industrial complexes built by LH.

MTS, owned by Russian conglomerate Sistema, now has twelve data centers; four centers in Moscow, two in Nizhny Novgorod, one each in the Moscow Region, Leningrad Region, Samara, Novosibirsk, Vladivostok, and Krasnodar. It acquired the GreenBush data center in Moscow in July 2021.