It looks like WiBRO has finally hit city-wide coverage....now the question shifts to device availability.
times.hankooki.com
Seoul Becomes Portable Internet City
By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff Reporter
Beginning this month, Seoulites on the go can access the high-speed Internet across the capital on their mobile wireless devices.
KT, Korea's biggest fixed-line company, yesterday held a ceremony to celebrate the launch of citywide WiBro services.
WiBro allows people on the move to hook up to the Internet at speeds similar to broadband landlines.
``Amazing things that have been deemed far-off dreams are being realized here in Seoul,' KT President Nam Joong-soo said at the ceremony held at Chongyechon Square.
``These exploits, the first in the world, will raise the competitiveness of Seoul residents,' Nam said.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said: ``We have done what New York, London, Paris and Tokyo have failed to do. I am proud of that.'
Those who want to sign up for WiBro need wireless devices that can accommodate the new service such as a notebook computer or a smart phone.
A one-time subscription fee of 30,000 won and a monthly rate ranging from 10,000 won to 40,000 won will be charged for the service.
Although WiBro debuted across Seoul with much fanfare, experts said the go-anywhere Internet service will struggle to take off.
KT embarked on its WiBro services midway through last year after spending hundreds of millions of dollars but its customer base is still negligible, according to one expert.
Adding insult to injury the country's mobile operators have started a fast mobile Internet alternative to WiBro.
However, KT said things will change in favor of the Pundang, Kyonggi Province-based company with the advent of new terminals.
``We plan to unveil various WiBro-enabled devices like smart phones, laptop computers or personal media players by June,' KT spokesman Lee In-won said.
``In addition, various content customized to WiBro will be marketed. For one, users will be able to enjoy dedicated programs of user-created content,' Lee said.
Asked about the plan to expand the service areas nationwide, Lee said a timeline will be set up at a later date.
``After checking the commercial viability of WiBro in Seoul, we plan to come up with the plan to further extend our service range,' Lee said.
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