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Competition is heating up in the telecom market this summer. In the fixed-line sector, KT is to launch WiBro portal Internet services, an area it expects to grow. In the wireless sector, KTF and SK Telecom are doubling efforts to expand the 3.5 generation HSDPA service for video phone calls. WiBro and HSDPA services are different technological platforms but both provide voice/video telephone calls and data transmission services at the same time, which makes it inevitable that they are at war for market dominance.
WiBro offers high-speed Internet access on the move at speeds up to 100 km/h. Inserting a dedicated modem card priced at around W300,000 (US$1=W958) into a laptop guarantees nearly the same Internet experience as a fixed line. Monthly charges are expected to be around W30,000. KT is to launch commercial WiBro services in some areas of Gangnam, Seocho-gu, Songpa-gu, Shinchon and Bundang on June 30, and SK Telecom is to offer the service in university towns including Anamdong, Hanyang University and Shinchon. The two plan to expand WiBro services to cover all of Seoul and heavily populated areas in the metropolitan area by early next year.
By contrast, the HSDPA service combines wireless phone technology with data transmission. The biggest advantages are video phone calls and global roaming services. Mobile phones for the service are priced at over W700,000, but mobile carriers shoulder W300,000 of the cost. Service charges will vary depending on the length of the call. SK Telecom and KTF plan to start commercial HSDPA services in the metropolitan areas and major cities and expand them into 84 areas nationwide by the end of this year, which will cover more than 90 percent of the population.
WiBro can theoretically offer voice phone services anytime, though it does not do so for now. KT reportedly hopes that WiBro will make forays into the wireless telecom market. When this happens, KT, whose market share has been eroded by wireless rivals, hopes to be in position for a comeback.
By contrast, SK Telecom, the no. 1 in the wireless telecom market, claims WiBro is only complementary to HSDPA. The company insists WiBro will be available only in heavily populated university towns or office towns, while HSDPA can cover the whole nation.
Phone makers, under pressure in a crowded global market, are welcoming competition among service providers. Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have introduced HSDPA and WiBro phones. Domestic WiBro handset makers are in an advantageous position for export as Korea will be the first country to offer the system commercially.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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