Qualcomm Inc (QCOM)

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Korea Test Bed for Advanced Networks

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200412/kt2004120816340710230.htm

By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff Reporter
South Korea was a late entrant in fixed-line telecom but the nation continues its global leadership in wireless communications from cell phones to next-generation networks.

Korea is responsible for adopting the code division multiple access (CDMA), the offspring of U.S.-based Qualcomm, in a full-fledged manner and in globalizing the underdog handset technology.

Now the country once again storms onto the forefront in deploying untested wireless networks including WiBro, Zigbee and ground location-based service (LBS).

Among them, Korea is betting much on WiBro, the homegrown platform which enables people on the go to remain connected to the Internet at the speed of current wireline broadband.

Its commercial launch is expected in the first half of 2006 and the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) plans to issue three licenses next February.

The forthcoming service promises a downlink transmission speed of around 1 Mbps (megabits per second), several times faster than current norm, and mobile reception at up to 60 kilometers per hour.

After checking its commercial viability here, the MIC seeks to bring the locally developed technology into the global market and take advantage of the snowballing wireless trend.

Earlier this week, local handset maker Pantech and Curitel said the company developed a ``Zigbee'' phone, which enables users to activate electric switches and control electronics devices from a distance.

The high-end phone will be released in time with the MIC's plan of embarking on Zigbee sensor-based home networking services from late next year, faster than competing countries.

``With the advent of Zigbee sensors, about the size of a coin, and Zigbee phones, people will be able to remotely monitor and control lights or other everyday home appliances via a handset,'' MIC project manager Kim Tae-geun said.

Zigbee sensors, which will be embedded in a wide range of products, are designed to use very small amounts of power so that individual devices might run for years with a single alkaline battery.

The tracking system based on ground LBS will also get underway here in 2006, to challenge the currently dominant satellite-used global positioning system (GPS).

The nation already allocated 377-380 MHz for the business and a couple of companies look to commercialize it on the assumption that the service will attract 11.4 million subscribers by 2011.

``Unlike satellite GPS, which fails to track targets in shadow areas like inside a building, ground LBS can spot anybody with a terminal within a radius of 20-50 meters regardless of his location,'' another MIC project manager Lee Yoon-deock said.

After approaching the target within the radius, the tracker can pinpoint its situation with the help of a homing device, which can find the target's exact coordinates.

As a first plausible service, Lee predicted the terminal will be worn by Alzheimer's patients or young children to help caretakers detect their presence when they pass a certain pre-set area. The same device on a pet's collar could alert an owner when it goes astray.

The terminal is expected to cost 100,000 won per unit and an annual subscription fee would be set at about 50,000 won according to Kwack Chi-young, president of Vision Plant, which is preparing for the promising business.



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12-08-2004 16:35