KT opens undersea network center in Busan
KT officials inspect undersea cable networks at the Submarine Network Operation Center (SNOC) in Busan, Thursday. The company opened the SNOC in its bid to meet growing demands for a facility to manage cross-border data transfer. / Courtesy of KT
By Lee Min-hyung
KT has opened an undersea network control tower in Busan, amid the growing importance of managing cross-border data flow.
The Submarine Network Operation Center (SNOC) will be used as a key facility to control timely and stable bulk data transfers in such areas as ultra-high-definition (UHD) broadcasting, data roaming and the fifth-generation (5G) network systems, according to KT, Thursday.
This came months after the company was named a key operator of the world’s largest submarine network cable, New Cross Pacific (NCP) last October. In 2014, KT won another undersea cable contract, the Asia Pacific Gateway (APG), connecting nine Asian nations.
“The SNOC will help us provide turnkey operations for undersea cable networks, from establishing network infrastructure to risk management,” Oh Seong-mok, executive vice president of KT’s network division, said in a statement.
Expectations are that the center will allow the firm to respond more swiftly to potential data interference, as the SNOC has centralized network systems and control facilities for the APG and NCP, all of which were previously operated separately, according to KT.
The company also stressed that it expects this latest accomplishment to help KT diversify revenue streams, allowing the firm to win more contracts from global information and communication technology (ICT) companies whose demand for stable network connections is growing.
The SNOC will also be a major test bed for the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympics in 2018 when the company plans to demonstrate the 5G networks across the globe, according to the firm.