On daily running subway trains in downtown Seoul, foreign tourists can easily witness young Korean commuters surfing Internet sites on their laptops. By glimpsing their laptop screens you can find a little surprise when you see them checking their e-mail and sending replies on a fast moving subway. How can Koreans send and receive e-mails by computers wirelessly on subway running at high speed Now Koreans well appreciate the WiBro service that is only a year old.
Technically, WiBro is a wireless Internet service which enables Internet service users to operate their laptop computers in vehicles running at the speed of 60kph. Even 100kph won't outrun the speed of WiBro internet service. This is startling news for most because it is wireless service that is giving them fast Internet access. Who could've imagined a day when one can get a fast Internet access in the subway without using any lines
WiBro theory had long existed before the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute and Samsung announced the success of turning theory into reality.
The government supported the development project as a part of IT 839, an IT initiative to survive in the globally competitive IT field.
One year-old WiBro is not a golden egg yet. However the future will be bright as IT experts predict. They do not hesitate to say that as the world is moving into an era of mobile Internet service, WiBro will be the strongest competitor in the race of seizing the hegemony in the wireless Internet market except mobile phone service. The reason is that it can send information at the download speed of 3Mbps and the upload speed of 1.2Mbps. Mbps is a speed unit of sending one Megabit per second. The speed is the fastest so far in the mobile Internet field.
The number of subscribers is increasing gradually. The number is approaching 20 thousand. Especially in two recent months the number doubled compared with April. KT, only one operator of WiBro, explained that the increase was made by supplying more WiBro devices than the previous months. The cheap price of devices also helped KT to attract more subscribers. KT has tried to put 30,000 won or US$30 devices like USB modems in the windows of the shops in downtown Seoul. USB modem-style devices have high mobility and light weight. Subscribers can use them by plugging them into the side of a laptop.
WiBro is making a change in the Internet lives of Koreans. First change came in the subway as mentioned earlier.
Kim Kyung-hoon, a university student in Sinchon, is one of the users who proclaim the benefit of WiBro. "WiBro is mysecret weapon because I can get text files from my friends on the way to school or home on the subway," he said. Kim added that "Without WiBro, I cannot receive e-mails and multimedia content while on the move." On campus, he is the star. He said that friends crowd around him every time he turns on the computer sitting on the campus grass to surf Internet sites.
The impression won't stop there. KT is planning to launch a new service for users to communicate both in voice and motion pictures. By all means, receivers and senders can watch the face of counterparts while talking at the computer screen as if they are on a live TV program. The service that allows subscribers to talk with other subscribers will be free of charge and lovers are expected to be the best beneficiaries of the service.
WiBro is also beneficial for businessmen and women. The best news is its upload speed. Actually Korean business circles are willingly signing the subscriptions. WiBro also changes the portrayal of offices in Seoul. People in offices do not have to stay in to check e-mails. They take out laptop computers and log on while drinking take-out coffee.
Some analysts say that WiBro can be similar to Qualcomm's CDMA. As Qualcomm makes a lot of money for its property rights on CDMA chips, WiBro can bring the same amount of money for its property rights. Nothing similar to WiBro is yet to come.
Samsung is waving the flag of WiBro to export to foreign countries such as the USA, Japan and others. The main target Samsung has set is the USA. The biggest company in Korea has already signed an agreement with Sprint to provide WiBro systems last year. Choi Ji-sung, president of Samsung, visited Washington DC to start commercial service. Choi declared that the launch signifies that Korea has finally become a country exporting its own telecommunication property abroad. Sprint will be hand in hand with Samsung to introduce WiBro to the USA. Sprint showed its intention of standing on top of the mobile service pyramid by taking advantage of WiBro.
Samsung will also take part in Japanese plans to adopt WiBro sponsored by the Japanese government. KDDI consortium and NTT Docomo will compete in the beating. Japan is scheduled to select the final company or consortium as its partner. Besides Japan, 17 countries have similar plans to start WiBro in their areas as their next Internet service.
WiBro is a promising technology because no competitive technology has yet been developed. However, it has a long way to go both in Korea and abroad.
One of the hurdles WiBro has to jump over is that it should be a standard in the global market. If it fails to become a standard of its kind, it can hardly make money in the market. That is why Samsung and the Korean government are raising their voices in the ITU conference whose members are discussing standardization. If WiBro becomes a global standard, a new Qualcomm legend will come true for Korea.
But the environment is not favorable for Korea. China cast a nay vote in a recent conference. The final decision will be made in the coming month of October.
The Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) will put every effort to make WiBro a global standard technology.
The MIC forecast that WiBro can shorten the time it will take for Korea's per capita income to reach US$30,000 from the current US$20,000 because it will increase export volume. In this sense, experts support the MIC's initiative. Some polls taken by the MIC also showed that priority should be put onto standardization.
Back in Korea, the WiBro market is growing at high speed. Lee Ki-tae, former president of Samsung Information and Telecommunications once said that people can watch the high definition TV program live through WiBro, adding that every telecommunication and information device will adopt WiBro as its core service.
Variation is coming from SK Telecom, a leading mobile cellular service provider. It is not that aggressive in the WiBro market because its focus has been on the mobile cellular service, the second generation telecommunication service.
The dilemma is that if SK Telecom invests into WiBro there is a possibility that the cellular market could shrink. The more time subscribers use WiBro, the less time they have to use cellular services. It is a kind of cannibalization effect. Consumers wish SK Telecom to join the market so that they can pick the fruits of competition. As is wellknown, competition makes the price fall and the service better.
