After an inauspicious launch, Korean telecom operator KT Corp is expanding its mobile WiMax network to cover the whole of the country’s capital city of Seoul, the company announced yesterday.
KT uses a Korean variant of mobile WiMax, called WiBro, which lacks the MIMO, beamforming and frequency flexibility of mobile WiMAX (802.16e).
Korean developers claim that WiBro and WiMax devices and networks are already interoperable, and will be fully compatible by next year.
However, competing WiMax hardware developer Nortel has insisted that mobile WiMax and WiBro are not compatible.
KT Corp has been operating a limited WiBro network in busier areas of Seoul since mid-2006. The service has reportedly attracted only a handful of subscribers. Samsung has now developed WiBro-compatible mobile phones and other handheld devices which KT Corp will begin selling this summer, according to the Korea Herald.
KT Corp, the former state-run telecom monopoly, is Korea’s largest fixed-line phone and broadband internet access provider, and the second largest mobile provider. Korea’s largest mobile provider is SK Telecom, the other holder of 2.3 GHz licenses for WiBro in Korea. SK Telecom says it will invest some US$125 million for the expansion of its WiBro service in 2007.
KT Corp’s promotions have made no mention of any VoIP applications, which would compete directly with the company’s mobile phone division. Same deal with SK Telecom.
PandoraTV claims to be the largest internet video site in South Korea, with 12 million unique visitors and 1.2 billion page views per month.
