Samsung v. Intel
"In the beyond 3G technologies of the mobile connection, I do not want to see 'Intel Inside' in service terminals. We will lead the standard with WiBro. WiMax is now basically a fixed-line solution. It will take about a year for the technology to gain mobility so we have room to lead in the beyond 3G while WiMax tries to gain mobility." - Lee Ki-tae. Samsung President -
>> Samsung Vows to Replace Intel as New Standard
Kim Tae-gyu
Cheju
Korea Times
times.hankooki.com
Samsung Electronics, the world’s third-biggest mobile handset maker, aims to outclass Intel, the global top chip maker, in the telecom industry beyond the current third-generation (3G) platform.
Samsung president Lee Ki-tae Monday made the remarks on the sidelines of the Fourth Generation Forum held at Cheju Island, the scenic resort island about 130 kilometers south of the mainland’s southernmost tip.
"In the beyond 3G technologies of the mobile connection, I do not want to see 'Intel Inside' in service terminals. We will lead the standard with WiBro," Lee said.
WiBro, the made-in-Korea mobile broadband, lets folks on the go remain connected to the Internet at the speed of current landline broadband.
U.S.-based Intel also wants to sustain its leadership beyond 3G by developing WiMax, which has a wide service range but cannot secure a mobile connection at the moment.
WiMax is similar to Wi-Fi as both are based on hot spots, or areas around access points in which people can share information or can access to the Internet without wireline.
While Wi-Fi covers a few hundred meters, WiMax has a range of up to 50 kilometers.
"WiMax is now basically a fixed-line solution. It will take about a year for the technology to gain mobility so we have room to lead in the beyond 3G while WiMax tries to gain mobility," Lee said.
He added Korea will be able to go more than halfway from 3G to 4G by debuting WiBro next April. KT, the nation’s foremost fixed-line operator, plans to commercialize the locally developed platform.
Lee said up to six telecom carriers like Japan’s KDDI and Britain’s BT show interest in WiBro and expected the Korea’s homegrown offerings will go global soon.
The 4G Forum, which began 2003, was designed to bring together the telecom industry, academia, service providers and regulators to create multi-perspective talks on the up-and-coming technology.
A total of 140 representatives from 24 countries participated in the third edition of the annual Samsung event, held under the theme of "Revolution of Radio Access and Key Technology for 4G."
Such big shots as Broadcom’s co-chairman Henry Samueli, Open Mobile Alliance chairman Mark Cataldo and Michel Mayer, head of Freescale Semiconductor partook in the two-day session that will close its curtain today.
The telecom industry has yet to agree on the definition of 4G but Samsung expects it to be platform that promises data transmission speed of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) on the move and 1Gbps at a standstill, about 500 times faster than current wired broadband.
The next-generation technology will enable people to enjoy novel bandwidth-devouring services, including video streaming and three-dimensional games, through mobile terminals.
Samsung expects the ultra-fast services beyond current 3G will be commercially available in years to come after garnering frequencies around 2007. <<
>> Samsung Mobilizes WiBro
Dan Jones
Unstrung
08.29.05
unstrung.com
While the rest of the world waits for fixed WiMax interoperability testing, the South Koreans are pushing ahead with their home-grown mobile variant of the wireless MAN technology.
Local press reports say that Samsung Corp. has now demonstrated handoff between WiBro basestations at speeds of up to 80 MPH and intends to debut the new technology at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November.
In contrast, official interoperability testing of fixed WiMax products by the WiMAX Forum in Spain is not now expected to start until October this year.
So what is Samsung's hurry? After all, WiBro is derived from the 802.16e specification that forms the basis of mobile WiMax, and WiBro is expected to be very similar to the final mobile specification, although that hasn't yet been ratified.
In a nutshell, Samsung wants to grab an early advantage in the mobile wireless broadband market, and particularly ensure that it has the jump on Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC), which is arguably the main company driving the WiMax market.
The president of Samsung, Lee Ki-tae, told the Korea Times as much on Monday, saying he didn't want to see "Intel Inside" the next generation of communications terminals.
"We will lead the standard with WiBro," Lee says. <<
- Eric - |
