By Yoon Ja-young
KT, the country’s top communications company, announced Thursday that it would limit smart TVs from accessing its Internet network from today, due to the huge traffic flow they incur on the network.
The users will be able to watch TV, but they won’t be able to use smart TV applications. The TV manufacturers, which are betting on the Internet-enabled TV as their future cash cow, are perplexed.
“Just like the blackout last September which stemmed from lack of control on electricity consumption, the IT ecosystem could collapse if free riding data explosively grows on the network,” KT said in an emergency announcement.
Smart TVs are comprehensive entertainment device that use a lot of traffic for a long period, unlike desktops. Hence, smart TVs use five to 15 times more traffic flow than IPTVs, and hundreds of times more in the case of real-time broadcasting.
KT said smart TVs could blackout the network if their use continues to expand at the current pace. It added that it would damage most Internet users by slowing down the network.
Communications companies have demanded that smart TV manufacturers pay them for the use of the network, but TV manufacturers have a different story to tell.
“It goes against the principle of network neutrality, which should enable all consumers to use the service without discrimination. Moreover, the argument that smart TV data induces excessive traffic flow needs further verification,” Samsung Electronics said in an announcement.
The Korea Communications Commission also showed concern that KT might be damaging users. “The guidelines on network neutrality and Internet traffic management were implemented from January. KT could be impairing social consensus on the issue,” it said, adding that it plans to take strict measures if KT limits access.
However, the conflict between communications companies and other IT businesses using their network, such as smart TVs and mobile messenger services, is expected to rise as traffic is growing explosively following penetration of smart devices, weighing on the network.