The Introduction of LTE in Korea

As reported in the Joongang Daily, Korea's mobile service providers all have plans in place to begin offering LTE (long term evolution) service this year or next.  As shown in the accompanying graphic (click for full-size version) SK Telecom and LG U+ will introduce the service in July of this year, while KT, which is highly invested in a nationwide WiBro network, will follow in the first quarter of 2012.  Both LTE and Korea's own technology, Wibro (mobile WiMax) are fourth generation mobile technologies that deliver more speed than third generation mobile networks.   Speed translates into a much more satisfactory customer experience when using video or data-intensive mobile services.

LTE, WiBro to be Global 4G Standards

The news is out that LTE Evolution and WiBro Evolution (known as WiMax Evolution outside of Korea) have been selected as the two global standards for fourth generation mobile technology.  As reported in The Korea Herald, the decision was made at an ITU meeting in Vietnam June 9-16.  The ITU will complete developing the specific standardization framework for the two technologies by March 2011 and grant final approval in February 2012. “With Korea playing a key role in the international standardization effort, the nation will be able to lead the way in designing core technologies for the next generation,” said Kim Jeong-sam, director of the radio spectrum policy division at the Korea Communications Commission.  The research and development on WiBro Evolution has been led by Samsung Electronics and Korea's Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI).

Mobile WiMax (WiBro) Development and Exports

It is about time to review the success of Korea's home-grown mobile broadband technology, at home and in export markets.   It is called WiBro (short for Wireless Broadband) here in Korea and Mobile WiMax in other countries around the world.  It is based on the IEEE 802.16e standards and subsequent updates.
First, regarding the South Korean market, it seems a safe bet that WiBro-equipped mobile handsets will be very popular and widely used here, now that the mobile broadband market has been opened up.  People using the iPhone, Android phones or other mobile broadband-equipped handsets will place a high value on speed.  WiBro delivers speed and does so dependably.
In terms of exports, WiBro has expanded its international presence in recent months.  The WiMax Forum has announced a long list of companies backing the building of a mobile WiMax ecosystem, including Cisco, Intel, Samsung, KT, Motorola, Yota and others.  The Forum reports that wireless broadband internet deployments based on WiMax have reached 519 in 146 countries, including 95 WiMax networks deployed by 2G network operators.
Samsung announced earlier this week that it will launch its next generation mobile internet service with its Russian partner Yota in Nicaragua, starting in May.   Also earlier this month, Korea Telecom launched WiBro service in Rwanda, marking the first deployment of the technology in Africa.  The initial deployment was a wireless network for government offices in the capital city of Kigali.  According to press reports, SK Telesys, the SK group's mobile communication equipment group has exported WiBro to Jordan.  KT is providing WiBro services to Uzbekistan, and the list continues to grow.  As of September 2009, Samsung alone had provided Mobile WiMax equipment to 25 operators in 21 countries.

KCC Chief Ambivalent About WiBro

A very interesting piece in The Korea Times today about WiBro versus LTE.  WiBro, or "wireless broadband" is a locally developed variant of Mobile Wimax.  It was developed jointly with Intel and grows out of WiFi, representing the computer industry's claim to 4G mobile status.  LTE, on the other hand, is an outgrowth of W-CDMA technology and is backed by wireless companies, including Ericsson.
According to the article, some experts suggest that LTE will eventually garner 70 percent of the global market for 4G mobile services.  This despite the fact that it isn't even in the marketplace yet.  It seems to me that the real questions are (1) who will get WiBro or LTE-equipped notebooks, netbooks, handsets and modems into the marketplace first AND (2) how much consumers will value the additional speed provided by a WiBro-equipped device.
WiBro works and it appears to work just fine.   We won't know the outcome of this for another year or two, but I'd expect something more like a 60-40 or even 50-50 split of the global market between LTE and WiBRO.