KT Launches WiBro Commercial Trial

location based services


Korea's biggest telecom service provider Korea Telecom Corp (KT) launched commercial trial of WiBro technology, fast Internet-on-the-move services, on March 2 for the first time in the world.

"Initially, we plan to deploy the trial service with our 200 employees in March and then expand the service to 3,000 citizens including university students in April. The final commercial services are expected to be available in June of this year," said a company representative.

KT was planning to provide the trial group and the supporters with WiBro devices including PDAs and notebook PCs dedicated for wireless Internet. With portable devices, users can experience personal multimedia services such as web surfing, email, video-on-demand (VoD), multimedia gaming, chatting, and personal broadcasting. KT has installed and optimized 150 basestations across the service area to deliver the services. In the latter half of 2006, customers in Seoul and the surrounding Kyonggi province will be offered seamless ultra high-speed Internet services in a car moving at speeds of up to 120kph.

WiBro is the combination of wireless and broadband, and provides users with high-speed Internet and related services wirelessly. Developed by Samsung Electronics and Electronics & Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) in Korea, the wireless broadband Internet standard allows data transmission at 1Mbps in a moving car at speeds of more than 60kph. It also offers a wider coverage range of 2-10km compared with wireless LAN.

Technology Attracting Interest
The technology has attracted a high level of interest in Korea. The Korean government is encouraging the technology development as a national policy project under its IT839 plan. Major domestic mobile handset manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have also introduced new WiBro-equipped mobile handsets.

"For the service providers, assuring more profits in addition to the existing fixed-line Internet services is important. At the same time, creating new business models and establishing new cooperative relationships is also crucial for the mutual benefits between service providers and content providers," said the KT representative.

In addition, KT revealed that it has established a strategic partnership with Woori Bank on the implementation of WiBro-based financial services. The two companies have agreed to develop and expand the convergence service model which combines KT's WiBro service and Woori Bank's digital financial service. The second phase of the project will involve the development of an IC-based WiBro banking service that enables electronic payment system of Woori Bank within the WiBro portals provided by KT. Along with this, the two are planning to make inroads into the global market with new WiBro financial platform and establish a ubiquitous financial service infrastructure.

by Luz Park

(April 2006 Issue, Nikkei Electronics Asia)