By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
The government will license new operators for WiBro, a homegrown wireless service that has faltered since its 2006 debut, as current carriers KT and SK Telecom hedge their bets on other portable Internet technologies.
The Korea Communications Commission (KCC), the country’s converged regulator for broadcasting and telecommunications, said it will require KT and SK Telecom to allow new WiBro operators to use their base stations and also open their WiBro and third-generation (3G) wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) networks for roaming.
To get more companies to invest in WiBro, KCC believes it is critical for legal efforts to change the telecommunications law and allow mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) to go through the National Assembly.
MVNOs buy traffic, or wholesale minutes, texts and data from network operators, such as KT and SK Telecom, and resell it to their customers under their own mobile service brand.
KT and SK Telecom are currently providing WiBro with an 8.75-megahertz (MHz) channel in the 2.3-gigahertz (GHz) band, but the KCC is also considering introducing a separate standard adopting 10MHz as a channel bandwidth.
``We will both offer license for WiBRo operators planning to provide nationwide services or just local coverage,’’ said an official from KCC’s policy bureau.
To lure more wireless users to spend on WiBro, the KCC will allow voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) calls on WiBro-enabled handsets, providing cheaper voice rates than conventional wireless services. KT and SK Telecom have been reluctant to offer voice over their WiBro networks, over worries of cannibalizing their 3G voice traffic.
The government will also encourage their development of next-generation mobile Internet services, such as the wireless version of Internet protocol television (IPTV), and press mobile carriers and device makers to introduce low-priced handsets with WiBro and Wi-Fi connectivity.
WiBro, short for ``wireless broadband,’’ is a high-speed mobile broadband technology that was developed as the local variant of mobile WiMAX, which is competing with Long Term Evolution (LTE) in the 4G standard wars.
The Korean government has been vigorous in its support of WiBro, attempting to drive the WiMAX standard by getting out of the gate quickly and allowing local companies to reap the benefits from homegrown intellectual property.
However, WiBro has so far been disastrous as a reference case for the mobile WiMAX camp, with KT and SK Telecom combining for just over 250,000 subscribers over three years of commercial services, a far cry from the initial government predictions that saw 1.4 million users by 2008.
WiBro, much like other 4G candidate technologies such as LTE, is a long-range wireless broadband system that could be used for connecting computers as well as laptops, mobile phones and other portable devices.
However, in a country that already owns one of the world’s most advanced 3G networks, WiBro has struggled to remain relevant. And it doesn’t help that KT and SK Telecom, both stiff-armed into the WiBro business by the government, are reluctant to show serious commitment to WiBro when they have yet to gain a good return on their massive 3G investments.
KT, the country’s biggest telephone and Internet company, and No. 2 wireless carrier, invested 688.2 billion won (about $580 million) into its WiBro service through last year, which is about 86 percent of the level it promised when obtaining the WiBro license from the Ministry of Information and Communication, the KCC’s predecessor.
SK Telecom, the biggest mobile telephony carrier, invested 532.9 billion won into its WiBro service through last year, about 80 percent of the level it was supposed to spend.
In terms of coverage, KT’s WiBro network was capable of covering 46.4 percent of the country’s population by last year, while SK Telecom covered 43.6 percent, which are both significantly less than the conditions promised in the WiBro licenses.
Although the KCC is hoping that KT and SK Telecom stick to their WiBro commitment, the companies seem more concerned about leaping onto the bandwagon of LTE, which has higher backing from global mobile carriers in the 4G standard race.
Both KT and SK Telecom have said they will begin investing and building their LTE network next year, while LG Telecom, the smallest of the three wireless carriers, has also declared its LTE commitment.