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To: S100 who wrote (73946)	6/15/2000 1:17:00 AM
From: S100	Respond to of 152472

New issues emerge for selecting IMT-2000 operators New issues emerged at the first public hearing on the Information and Communication Ministry's proposal for IMT-2000 operator selection held Tuesday, with the message that much still needs to be worked out before the final announcement on the number of operators and selection method at the end of the month. Most of the 16 panelists from research institutes, the academia, civic organizations, equipment makers and wireless service operators were in apparent agreement on a modified beauty contest, three operators, and multiple technology standards, with the exception of SK Telecom (SKT) which called for a single standard. However, a number of new issues were raised during the meeting, reflecting differing interests of the businesses, particularly the service operators. Korea IMT-2000 Consortium, a grouping led by Hanaro Telecom Inc. and Onse Telecom, both of which provide fixed line service only, said IMT-2000 is a revolutionary service combining both fixed and wireless services. Hence, it was illogical to brand the consortium as a new entrant while, in fact, current wireless operators should also be considered new players in the IMT-2000 market. Lee Jong-myung, who spoke for the Korea IMT-2000, also called for a spectrum cap, giving 10MHz each to two existing wireless carriers and allocating 20MHz to a new entrant. "The government could hold the remaining 20MHz, of the 60MHz available for IMT-2000, in reserve and give it out later to entrants," Lee proposed. Meanwhile, SKT, LG TeleCom (LGT) and Hansol M.com stood by their position that wireless operators should be chosen as IMT-2000 operators, based on their experience and existing infrastructure. However, Korea Telecom (KT), as a fixed-line telecom operator, maintained that no preference should be given to current wireless operators. On the issue of roaming between 2G and 3G services, as a way to avoid redundant investment, LGT said, "Requiring roaming between 2G and 3G is de facto setting cdma2000 as the technology standard for IMT-2000." Even if multiple standards were allowed, for a company that opts for W-CDMA to have to provide roaming for 2G would entail added costs for customers needing to get dual band handsets, noted Lee Chung-shik, an LGT official. "It should be left up to the operators to decide whether they would provide roaming between 2G and 3G," he concluded. KT also said the issue should be left up to market demand, voicing concern that roaming between 2G and 3G could pose problems of fair competition. A dispute among operators arose yesterday on the key question of who would apply for the IMT-2000 license. KT and LGT said a consortium should be defined as a consortium in which a current wireless operator is a member. Meanwhile, Korea IMT-2000 Consortium argued that a new consortium should be among the operators chosen to promote competition and consumer interests. SKT said it should be up to the bidding company to decide whether to form a consortium. On the issue of technology standards, deviating from other panelists, KT called for a timely decision on the matter as the absence of a clear position on standards could pose problems for operators as they formulate their business plans. (KHR) Updated: 06/15/2000 koreaherald.co.kr