KT, SKT, Dacom picked for new network projects.

(From The Korea Herald)

By Kim Tong-hyung The government yesterday picked three consortia, respectively led by SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and Dacom Corp., to take up trial operations of new networks for converged telecom and broadcast services. The Ministry of Information and Communication announced the results of its review of four groups that competed to participate in the broadband convergence network (BcN) trial projects, which is scheduled to start next year.

The Cable BcN consortium led by cable-television operator Suwon Broadcasting Network failed to make the cut. The broadband convergence network is designed to provide Internet access at speeds of 50Mbps to 100Mbps, about 50 times faster than current conventional services, with nationwide coverage.

The network infrastructure is expected to provide the backbone for future communication and computing services, such as Internet protocol version 6 (IPv6), next-generation mobile telephony, radio-frequency identification technology and other advanced solutions. KT controls more than 95 percent of Korea's fixed-line market and 51 percent of the broadband Internet market. SK Telecom controls 18.7 million of Korea's 35 million mobile-phone customers representing a market share of 51.6 percent.

"The cable television consortium had an advantage in hybrid fiber coaxial network technologies, but we concluded that their weak backbone network will limit the possibilities of providing consumers with converged multimedia service," said Seo Seok-jin, director of the Communication Ministry's Broadband Convergence Network Division.

"Terrestrial broadcast companies such as KBS, MBC, SBS and EBS will be allowed to participate in any of the consortiums. The cable system operators could also join the project to develop and commercialize their hybrid fiber coaxial networks," he added.

The government hopes to attract 67 trillion won ($58 billion) in investment for the broadband convergence network through 2010. Broadband convergence networks expect to generate 111 trillion won in equipment sales and $50 billion in exports by 2010, while covering more than 20 million Korean households. The trial operations will focus on developing services based on voice- over-Internet protocol and IPv6 computing technologies, while also developing interactive solutions that ...