Per Rosadeng. Thank you.
Domestic telecom operators gearing up for 2.5G wireless race
Amid growing speculation that the launch of the third-generation (3G) wireless service may be delayed, domestic telecom operators are going into high gear to commercialize an interim service that will bring mobile users a taste of the 3G experience.
Called IS-95C, the much-touted wireless standard will offer the key features of 3G including faster Internet hookup, video and multimedia service on mobile phones.
The speed will be slower than what is promised by 3G, called IMT-2000 in Korea. But it will have network capacity that enables data to travel at a speed 2 to 10 times faster than currently available.
Telecom carriers are racing to upgrade their networks to IS-95C, an evolution of CDMA (code division multiple access) technology, currently used in Korea. They said they will be able to enter commercial services around late next month.
Wireless operators already launched trial IS-95C services in some parts of Seoul in October last year, while promising to roll out full-fledged services by the end of 2000.
However, the schedule was not met for lack of handsets compliant of the mode and slower-than-expected deployment of networks.
They also lacked confidence in the business prospect of the service, also referred to 2.5G, which will be replaced by the more advanced 3G, slated for a May 2002 launch.
However, the outlook for IS-95C has recently gained momentum with the government, and a major telecom carrier recently hinting at a possible delay of IMT-2000.
Minister of Information and Communication Ahn Byung-yub said last week that the government will leave it up to operators to decide when to launch the 3G service.
The announcement followed Korea Telecom president's remarks on the merits of pushing back the service, for which domestic equipment makers will not be ready to provide handsets and networking gear until early 2002.
If IMT-2000 is postponed, the 2.5G service will be a major battleground among telecom carriers.
IS-95C will serve as a major test-bed for IMT-2000, as the winner in the competition is likely to have better position to win bigger shares of customers for IMT-2000.
The new service will offer an experience of fast, seamless wireless Internet and multi-media service to customers who are disappointed with slow, low-quality wireless Web access.
IS-95C can transmit data wirelessly at a speed of up to 144kbps, capable of sending data equivalent to 100 pages of A4 paper within just six seconds. It is an evolution from the existing IS-95A and IS-95B, which supports data transmission at 14.4kbps and 64kbps-115.2kbps, respectively.
Although not meeting the transmission speed of 2Mbps specified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for the upcoming 3G, IS-95C's fast data transmission will make many multi-media services available, including video conferencing, video-on-demand, mobile shopping, network-based games and other high-performance services on wireless phones.
SK Telecom (SKT), the largest wireless operator in Korea, is moving fast to upgrade its network to IS-95C.
The company has already made its 1,300 wireless base stations across the nation compatible with the new standard and plans to add 79 new stations to expand its coverage this year. It plans to spend 500 billion won in establishing networks.
The company said it will be able to roll out a commercial service by early next month when mobile handsets supporting the standard will hit the market. SKT said it expects to have 3 million subscribers to the new service by 2003. It has already secured a significant number of subscribers since it launched a trial in October.
LG Telecom (LGT) is also in the final stage of preparation to launch IS-95C service. The company has finished establishment of 1,200 base stations for IS-95C and plans to upgrade additional 1,000 stations by late February, when it plans to go into a commercial service.
The wireless operator hopes to attract 200,000 subscribers by mid-this year and 1.6 million by the end of the year.
LGT has devised a way of upgrading software, instead of hardware, of base stations, thus reducing networking costs significantly, it said.
Korea Telecom (KT) Freetel, a subsidiary of state-run telecom giant Korea Telecom, also will launch IS-95C service by late February.
It will use Qualcomm's high data rate (HDR) technology, which sends data to Internet networks bypassing ground stations and switching boards. The technology raises data transmission speed to as high as 2.4 Mbps, the company said.
KT Freetel said that switching its existing system to IS-95C will cost around 350 billion won.
Despite telecom operators' confidence, industry watchers say it will take some time before the service takes off largely due to the high prices of mobile phones supporting the service.
Telecom firms view IS-95C phones will be too expensive initially to become a mass-marketed product, and that its major customers in its initial stage will be business users. But they are optimistic that the prices will fall as the service attracts more and more users by meeting the growing demand for faster Internet on the move.
By Hwang Jang-jin Staff reporter
2001.01.15 |
