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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Moderated Thread - please read rules before posting -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Biddle who wrote (33994)	4/9/2003 7:47:06 AM
From: John Biddle	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 196568

Korea test bed for new wireless technology (insight@koreaherald.co.kr) By Yang Sung-jin Staff reporter 2003.04.10 koreaherald.co.kr Korea is now emerging as a test bed for new wireless Internet technologies as local fixed-line and mobile carriers forge partnerships with foreign firms to commercialize 2.3GHz-based wireless services. The move comes as the Ministry of Information and Communication weighs various options to allocate 2.3GHz spectrum for commercial purposes. Korea is already offering wireless LAN (local area network) services based on 2.4GHz. The existing wireless LAN services, also known as Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity), are limited in their coverage and mobility. Subscribers, for instance, cannot log on to the Web outside of wireless "hot spots" available in some public places, or AP (access points) that can be installed at home. Korea has more than 32 million mobile users, many of whom can access simplified Web pages via cdma2000 1x and its upgrade version EV-DO (evolution-data optimized) networks. The transmission speed ranges between 144 Kbps and 2.4 Mpbs. Subscribers can either use their handsets or connect their phones to laptops or PDA devices to access the Internet. Wireless Internet access through mobile phones, however, is quite expensive for ordinary users, although its coverage is usually unlimited. The question is whether mobile carriers and broadband service operators will develop viable services that can replace third-generation mobile Internet and compete with existing wireless LAN services. KT Corp. is now testing two U.S.-made systems for its new wireless broadband services. Late last month, it held a demonstration for "i-Burst," a product from U.S.-based Arraycomm. This month, it is scheduled to field test a system developed by Flarion, another U.S.-based wireless technology firm. Flarion is promoting its flash-OFDM (orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing), a spread spectrum-based technology that uses OFDM - a technology first developed in the 1960s and 70s originally aimed at reducing the amount of cross-talk in signal transmissions through the use of digital modulation that splits a signal into several narrowband channels at different frequencies - now used principally as a wireless access method (airlink). The company claims that it is the first fully mobile OFDM airlink for wide area broadband networks. KT, the country's largest broadband carrier, is planning to field test "Ripwave," which was first developed by Navini Networks, and "BroadAir," whose development was spearheaded by Broadstorm in the first half of this year. Hanaro has already completed its field test of Arraycomm's "i-Burst" technology. The company also signed agreements with other firms like Flarion and Broadstorm for further field testing of solutions that can utilize the 2.3GHz spectrum. Hanaro said that it will test Flarion's flash-OFDM, as well as Broadstorm's OFDMA-TDD next month. SK Telecom, the country's largest mobile carrier, is currently testing Flarion's flash-OFDM for 800MHz spectrum. SK Telecom said that it will test Flarion's technology for 2.3GHz if necessary. The mobile giant is offering mobile Internet access based on cdma2000 1x EV-DO. But it is exploring other options including 2.3GHz spectrum. The 2.3GHz spectrum, in fact, had been originally allocated for wireless local loop (WLL) service. WLL services, however, languished due to an inability to capture meaningful market share. The government allocated the spectrum to KT and Hanaro in 1998, but neither company actively used the spectrum, which raised questions regarding the unused telecom resource. The information ministry decided to reconfigure the spectrum into a wireless Internet access service and is now drawing up plans to redistribute the spectrum to carriers. Compared with other wireless Internet services, the 2.3GHz spectrum allows a wider coverage area, which is usually within three to five kilometers from base stations. The spectrum also supports a mobile environment (less than 30 kph) and has relatively cheaper subscription rates than wireless LAN and other competing 3G services, such as cdma2000 1x EV-DO and IMT-2000. The 2.3 GHz technology, however, still has a long way to go, analysts have said, adding that it is a nascent technology with a slew of unresolved issues and obstacles standing between its current state and hopes of widespread implementation.