KT to start IT platform transformation project (South Korea)
South Korea’s KT Corp reportedly aims to completely transform its numerous information and technology platforms under a US$423 million project.
Naming it as ‘Business and Information system Transformation’ (‘BIT’) project, KT is aiming to complete the transformation by 2014, having made improvements to its platforms involving operation information and support, sales, facilities and services.
The operator expects to have built the BIT platforms by March 2012, with necessary expansion made until June 2013, and the platform advancements are subsequently expected to be complete by 2014.
Once the new systems have been implemented KT expects to save up to US$314.64 million between 2012 and 2016 as a result of the optimization of management of facility assets and operational management, as well as productivity improvement. Further, it expects the development period for new services to be shortened to a month.
S. Korea’s KT joins hands with China’s No. 1 Telecom Carrier
KT Corp., South Korea’s top fixed-line operator and No. 2 mobile carrier, said Wednesday it signed a strategic alliance deal with China’s largest mobile carrier China Mobile Ltd to cooperate on mobile service business in the Northeast Asian region.
Under the deal, KT and China Mobile Ltd. will collaborate in several areas, including wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi), mobile application development, smartphones and green information technology, KT said.
“The tie-up with China Mobile will serve as the critical bridge among South Korea, China and Japan,” KT’s chief executive officer Lee Suk-chae said after a signing ceremony.
China Mobile is one of the world’s largest mobile carrier with its 522 million subscribers taking up 70 percent of the Chinese market as of 2009.
KT has worked to strengthen its ties with Asia’s mobile carriers to counter the rapidly changing mobile service domain. In 2006, the telecom giant sealed a deal with Japan’s NTT DoCoMo Inc. for strategic cooperation.
KT & Intel collaborate on WiMAX technology (South Korea)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A memorandum of understanding has been signed between South Korea telecom operator KT Corp and US chipmaker Intel Corp to collaborate on WiMAX technology. As per the deal, from October 2010, Intel will produce a chipset with a built-in WiBro (the South Korean variant of WiMAX) module for the operator.
The need for any additional devices to connect to the internet wirelessly will be eliminated with the help of the chipset. Further discussions might take place between the two companies regarding the possibility of exporting Intel’s chipsets that include KT’s WiBro technology to other countries.
Deployment of a nationwide WiBro network utilizing a 10MHz profile as a channel bandwidth with a view to meeting the global WiMAX standard has also been revealed by KT. Previously, 8.75MHz profile was used by KT, creating difficulties for any operators looking to deploy WiBro in countries where 10MHz is the standard bandwidth.
Kazakhtelecom broadband operations doubles (Kazakhstan)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The broadband operations of Kazakhtelecom (KT) have more than doubled in size in 2009. It has gone up from 660,000 at year-end 2008 to over 1.4 million a year later. Besides, 398,000 customers subscribed to dial-up connections, thus increasing the subscribers base of the company.
The net profit for the full-year 2009 had fallen 13% year-on-year to USD184 million. The results came after a number of expansion projects including the digitization of the PSTN and expansion of its broadband networks has been pursued by the company.
Till now, 90.74% of PSTN lines had been digitized.
SK Telecom, KT increase investment in WiBro
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The investments in WiBro services has been planned to be expanded by South Korean communications firms SK Telecom and KT plan. KRW 140 billion this year and KRW 160 billion in 2011 will be invested by SK Telecom while KT has also increased its WiBro investment plan to KRW 1.2 trillion, from an earlier projection of KRW 1.1 trillion by the end of 2011.
The announcement follows a previous announcement by KCC that would give spectrum in the 800/900 MHz band to the company that allocates a bigger budget for WiBro.
At present, WiBro is only available in and around capital Seoul and a few other cities
iPhone arrives in Korea. SKT and KT Corp discussing potential partnerships with Apple.
South Korea’s telecommunications regulator has given the green flag to apple to launch the iPhone in Korea.
The Korea Communications Commission made an exception to a rule that requires cellphones sold in the country to use domestic technology for location-based services. The commission’s action comes after months of consumer pressure.
This move is likely to create a stir among the dominant domestic manufacturers – Samsung and LG.
This development comes a month after Apple managed to clear its entry in China too. China Unicom, Apple’s partner in China will start selling the iPhone in the fourth quarter.
Lauren Kim, a spokesperson for SK Telecom Co. and Yeom Woo-jong, a spokesperson for KT Corp both admitted to being in discussion with Apple.
