South Korea, with its blisteringly fast broadband networks and tech-happy consumer base, is one of the most wired societies in Asia, if not the world. And if a new next-generation wireless broadband network under development here lives up to the hype, South Korean consumers could soon be enjoying such high-speed data applications as video conferencing, file swapping, or catching TV entertainment on their mobile phones anytime, anyplace.
That is the hope of engineers at South Korea's flagship telecom operator KT, who are trying to work out any potential kinks in the company's new wireless broadband network. In April, the company will roll out a new high-speed network based on a technology called Mobile WiMAX (as in worldwide interoperability for microwave access) in Seoul.
This will be the first time that Mobile WiMAX -- by far the fastest wireless broadband standard available today -- will be made available in such a large metropolitan market. It could be a powerful source of revenue for KT -- whose fixed-line business is facing slower growth -- and a big step forward for South Korea in its quest to stay at the forefront of information technology innovation.
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"Turbocharge" Growth
This wireless network, which is called WiBro -- short for wireless broadband -- in Korea, boasts peak data download speeds of 16 megabits per second. (The upload speed is about seven megabits per second). It is based somewhat on the WiMAX technology developed and heavily promoted by Intel as the next big thing in mobile communication.
However, Korean engineers in the private sector and working at the state-run Electronics & Telecommunications Research Institute have made significant engineering changes to adapt Mobile WiMAX for handling high-speed data transmissions.
A successful commercial launch would spur innovation, create new consumer markets, and boost South Korea's digital credentials internationally, the government hopes. "The IT sector has been the engine of our economic growth," says Lee Sang Jin, director at Korea's Ministry of Information and Communication. "We must try to create leading-edge environments to turbocharge this engine."
South Korea has already made some significant strides. One can point to the widespread use of the Internet and digital gadgets at home -- or the rise of Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics as world-class competitors in consumer electronics, mobile phones, and high-end memory chips over the last decade.
Trade Powerhouse
Nearly 90% of the nation's 15.9 million households enjoy broadband Internet access and virtually all adults and teenagers carry mobile phones, the bulk of them capable of surfing the Net and handling multimedia services. And policymakers are determined to turn the country into testing ground for all things digital.
That's important for local companies that want to try out new gadgets or digital applications at home before exporting them abroad. Shipments of IT products and parts last year totaled $113.4 billion and accounted for 35% of the country's total exports abroad. The sector also racked up a trade surplus of $54.5 billion in 2006 against a deficit of $38.1 billion in trade of non-IT products. In the past four years, South Korean IT industries represented nearly half of the expansion in Korea's overall economy, according to government statistics.
For instance, Samsung is rolling out a new line of multitasking mobile gadgets with the new KT wireless broadband network in mind. One product is a smartphone and an all-purpose portable device called the Deluxe MITs, short for mobile intelligent terminal by Samsung.
