Promotion of Synchronous IMT-2000 Necessary in Korea
By Nho Joon-hun
Staff Reporter
Korea is a virtual island country with no natural resources and must focus on the
advantages of promoting synchronous IMT-2000 (International Mobile
Telecommunication), an expert on technology evaluation accented.
Joo Moon-young, president of the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology
Evaluation and Planning (ITEP) said this strategy is essential for securing a stronger
basis for information technology.
``When you look at the fundamental facts, adopting the synchronous platform for
IMT-2000 is much more advantageous in boosting the manufacturing platform for IT
equipment,'' he said.
Joo pointed out that Korean companies already have strengths in the production of
synchronous switching systems and terminals and they must be given a chance to
further improve their competitiveness.
``There are those who argue that the asynchronous technology is used in a majority of
the global markets and that the application of synchronous standards will be limited.
``However, it is even more important to take note of the fact that there is a strong
chance that China will choose the synchronous platform for its third generation mobile
communications services,'' Joo said.
Consequently, the simple reality is that many of the 1.5 billion people in China could
very well be using synchronous systems, which in itself is a market much larger than
all of Europe.
``For Korea it makes little sense to have to purchase its equipment from the leaders
in asynchronous technologies, such as Nokia and Ericsson. It needs to capitalize on
its existing strengths in synchronous technology and target markets like China,'' said
Joo.
Should global IMT-2000 services proceed as planned, it could help Korea generate
some $30 billion a year in exports, an amount that exceeds the outbound shipments
of all Korean-made semiconductors.
``At the same time, it will provide jobs for as many as 500,000 skilled IT
professionals. All this will be possible only if Korean companies focus more on
synchronous technology,'' Joo said.
The suggestion that Korean companies should focus more on synchronous
technology is a basic policy of the current government under the Ministry of
Information and Communication.
SK Telecom and Korea Telecom have already been given licenses for asynchronous
IMT-2000 services and the ministry is currently drawing up plans for awarding the
synchronous license in the first half of this year.
In line with Joo's argument, the government believes that it must maintain an edge in
the synchronous platform, if for nothing else than the fact that huge investments have
been made over the past decade in securing competitive CDMA service (code
division multiple access).
While the promotion of the synchronous technology is not essentially a part of the
ITEP's work, it is part of its basic responsibility of building Korea into a technology
powerhouse in this new millennium.
``Korea has achieved success in a competitive global market by focusing on the
processing of high technology and related goods and focusing on the synchronous
technology is certainly an element that will help keep this momentum,'' Joo said.
jakenho@koreatimes.co.kr
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