By Kim Yoo-chul
KT will provide top-notch telecom-related services for the upcoming 13th IAAF World Championships in Daegu, according to the company chairman.
In a written interview, KT CEO and Chairman Lee Suk-chae said its track record of handling world-class events makes his firm the most qualified for the Daegu athletics meet and what it has to offer this time will be even better.
“This is a smart era and that means all spectators are cameramen and reporters. KT’s role is to help them file dramatic stories from the event on a real-time basis,” Lee said.
KT is the official partner and main telecom service provider for the event.
As Korea’s biggest fixed-line broadband operator, the company has invested 6 billion won or some $5.5 million just for telecom lines exclusively for the championships.
KT will provide a total of 3,500 telecom lines for broadcasting, fixed-calls and the Internet and Lee said that is enough for 3,500 spectators in the main stadium to use their mobile devices simultaneously.
“There is no doubt that KT is ready to offer flawless telecom services because we already managed a marathon and an international athletics event in April and May in Daegu,” the bureaucrat-turned-businessman Lee said.
This year’s world championships will bring 6,000 participants, from athletes to officials and media representatives, from 212 countries and KT has been operating a task force under the direct control of its vice chairman as an apparent strategy to distinguish itself as a trustable telecom service provider.
“KT will send network experts to better help reporters and athletes do their jobs without problems and that’s a part of our software-driven strategy, not just a hardware-centric approach,” said Lee.
Korea boasts high Internet-literacy and is one of the world’s most-wired societies. The nation is regarded as a hot-bed for digital devices such as smartphones and tablets, with the number of smartphone users predicted to reach 20 million by the end of the year, according to an estimate from KT.
“Thanks to tech-sensitive local consumers, we have steadily improved our telecom services and the upcoming event will be another springboard to prove our capabilities.”
Separately, the 65-year-old energetic and charismatic Lee has also been helping his company become leaner and, stressed KT will play another “significant role” as a trustable telecom service provider at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province.
KT’s record in handling telecom services for big international events dates back to 1988 when Seoul hosted the Summer Olympics.
It was the main telecommunications provider in the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASME) in 2000 and an official partner of the FIFA World Cup Korea-Japan two years later. Last year, KT handled the G20 Summit in Seoul with its 3G, WiBro and high-speed Internet facilities.
The IAAF World Championships competition will run for nine days from Aug. 27 to Sept. 4.