KT "Gives Wings to WiBro" with Google Chrome Book

Amid all of the industry discussion about LTE, it seems that many have relegated mobile WiMax (a locally developed technology referred to as WiBro here in Korea) to a future market niche, mainly in developing countries around the world.  However, here in Korea, where major mobile service providers have been building out their WiBro networks nationwide, an interesting development has been announced by KT.  According to a major electronics newspaper, Korea Telecom has chosen the Google Chrome Book as the main device for its 4G WiBro Service. “We are planning to launch the Chrome Book in Korea in the latter half of this year and the whole new laptop especially suitable for cloud computing environments will be marketed as a package along with our WiBro router Egg,” said KT, adding, “We are also giving a thought to releasing the Chrome Book having a built-in WiBro communications chip in cooperation with handheld makers.” KT is also mulling over linking the U-Cloud, its own cloud computing service, with the laptop.
Having used WiBro a few years ago on a bus moving along the Han River at over 70 kilometers per hour, I expect that a WiBro equipped Chrome Book might be very popular indeed.

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.

The Challenge for Korea's Mobile Telecoms Sector

Today many Korea-related blogs were filled with speculation that Korea Telecom was planning to introduce the Apple iPhone in Korea next month.  This was quickly dampened when a KT official apparently announced that there was no such plan.  However, the excitement generated points to the growing challenge faced by South Korea in its mobile telecommunications sector and, by extension, in the global marketplace.  As noted in earlier posts on this topic, several things are becoming clear:

• The mobile market worldwide is on the verge of a massive shift in emphasis from handsets to software and services, as epitomized by the Apple iPhone and Google's Android software platform.
• Korea's handset makers, led by Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are major players in the global handset market, with much to gain or lose from the massive shift over to hand held computer/communication devices.
• As noted in a recent Reuters analysis, Korean mobile communications service providers have concentrated overwhelmingly on Korean-language services, which don't easily translate into the global market which demands English and other languages.

Samsung is reportedly planning to open up an App store later this year, but will it be a global app store, in competition with iPhone and especially Android applications?  It should be and my recommendation and hope would be that both Samsung and LG invest heavily in making the Android platform successful, here in Korea and around the world.  The rationale for quickly releasing a state-of-the-art Android phone capable of toggling between English and Korean seems obvious.  With some of the world's best mobile networks and the impending transition for some customers to WiBro, Korea is easily the world's largest national test-market for new mobile services and software.  Encouraging competition and innovation in that market is what will serve Korean handset manufacturers and telecommunications providers best in the long run and in an increasingly global marketplace.

The Future of Mobile Technology

The following discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos makes for interesting viewing.  I recommend it to readers of this blog.

Speed in Mobile Broadband Solutions

I've commented on the importance of speed in internet connections in several prior posts. Now Jeff Orr, a leading industry analyst of mobile broadband, has created an elegant chart that visually portrays the relative speed of different mobile broadband solutions. (Click on the chart to see the full-size image.) In comments introducing the chart, Orr notes that "As more mobile broadband networks are launched and accessible to a greater potential market of users, a common question I receive is how these protocols compare in speed. This first chart shows multiple contemporary protocols and their maximum claimed data rates." Both his comments and the chart are right on target.

The Portable Internet: What's With WiBro?

The Korea Times chose an interesting headline for an article today about the prospects for Korea's homegrown portable internet technology, WiBro, as it is known domestically, and Mobile Wimax internationally.  "Will WiBro Sizzle or Fizzle?"  Although this may appear brash, I'm going to predict that, in the long run, WiBro or something very much like it will sizzle.  Furthermore, there appears to be no serious downside to the efforts of Samsung and other Korean companies to push for international approval of a mobile internet standard that originated here. 
At this moment in South Korea's rapid evolution toward the ubiquitous network society, it is a safe statement that there are two desireable characteristics of the future media environment:

• It will provide broadband internet access via mobile handsets, PCs and a variety of other devices.  The term broadband internet, as used here, means speed, as in access speeds currently available in Korea, Japan and a handful of other countries.
• To the extent possible, it will be cordless or mobile. 

As things currently stand, the only reason most people would want to plug in a cord or a network cable in order to access the internet, is to achieve an adequately fast connection.   WiBro, aka Mobile Wimax will succeed because it offers both speed and mobility.   Perhaps we're getting ahead of the story here.  There are other countries and companies in the world that may be pushing for their own versions of the "portable internet," as WiBro appropriately dubs itself.  The most notable of these is LTE, which is still several years off.
WiBro has an informative English language web site.  It contains links to several other sites that may be useful for those closely following the development of these technologies, approval of international standards, and related issues.   One is the Wimax Forum.   Another is the Telecommunications Technology Association.   Also of considerable interest is Intel's view of technologies that will enable the portable internet.  

Wireless Broadband Boosts the Economy

A new report by Ovum for CTIA, the Wireless Association concludes that "wireless broadband, is having a massive impact on the productivity of the entire U.S. economy, and in particular is having a significant impact in five key states. Further, we find that small businesses and the health care sector in particular are realizing significant benefits from the implementation and use of wireless broadband." (Click on the graphic at the upper-left to view a full-size image.) Why mention this in a blog about Korea's telecommunications sector? The main reason is that Korea has a potentially huge stake in the buildout of wireless networks around the world by virtue of its WiBro, or mobile Wimax technology. Samsung and Sprint are building Wimax networks along the east coast of the U.S., including New York and Washington D.C. Another reason is that the economic impact of wireless broadband technology in the United States economy is likely to be similar to its impact in other advanced economies, such as South Korea.