KT to halt investment in fixed line

By Kim Yoo-chul

Telecommunications giant KT is ready to pull the plug on fixed-line telephony, which continues to be exposed as a decaying business model due to the rise in mobile and Internet communications.

Company officials said the firm will no longer invest in its telephone network, while diverting spending to exploit the popularity of smartphones and other mobile Internet devices.

The mainstream emergence of voice over Internet protocol services (VoIP), which allow carriers to provide cheaper voice rates than conventional fixed-line services, is also quickening the retirement of the latter.

KT, the country’s largest fixed-line telephony operator and runner-up mobile carrier, makes more money selling mobile telephony and smarthone content than from fixed-line services.

Meeting reporters on Thursday, Seo Yu-yeol, head of KT’s home customers division, declared there is ``no future’’ in fixed-line telephony.

``In just over a year, KT added 10 million smartphone customers and I think that’s very inspiring. Fixed-line voice services have been KT’s bread-and-butter business for a long period and have contributed greatly to the nation’s economic development. However, it’s clearly a thing of the past,’’ Seo said.

Seo spoke on the sidelines of the launch of KT’s new ``Smart Home Pad,’’ a household service built around Samsung Electronics Galaxy Tab touch-screen tablet that provide customers a variety of multimedia and Internet-connected television services.

KT, which has an open mobile content platform, hopes to generate demand for its ``Smart Home Pad’’ in overseas markets.

Seo also mentioned the company’s plans to export the company’s prototype telecommunications robot, Kibot, although he didn’t elaborate further.

KT unveiled the first version of Kibot in April. Aside from basic communication functions tailored for children, the robot can sing and read in several languages.

``Since the launch, 10,000 Kibots have been sold. The next Kibot model, which will adopt a wider 7-inch display and Google-powered Android mobile operating system and more technical updates, will come out sometime in December,’’ said Seo.

``With smart home pads and Kibots, KT is aiming to find breakthroughs and specifically put more focus on providing customized home-related services.’’