By Kang Seung-woo
KT has offered a service to its Chinese and Japanese partners that will enable people to use free Wi-Fi networks in the three Northeast Asian countries.
Korea’s second-largest mobile operator said Monday it made the proposal in a meeting with China Mobile and NTT Docomo of Japan in Chengdu, China, late last week.
“KT has proposed the idea to ease users’ anxiety over data use while traveling in China or Japan,” said Ku Hyeon-mo, KT’s chief operating officer. “We plan to provide the free Wi-Fi roaming service this year with China Mobile and NTT DoCoMo.”
KT and NTT Docomo already started an automatic Wi-Fi roaming service in 2014, allowing KT and NTT Docomo subscribers to automatically access each other’s Wi-Fi networks when they travel to the neighboring countries.
In addition, the three mobile operators tested the three-way cooperation from last September to February, drawing rave reviews from their subscribers.
If KT’s proposal wins approval, the three carriers’ subscribers will be able to use any of the Wi-Fi networks in the three countries without having to go through hassles like making a user ID and password.
China Mobile has set up 4.5 million Wi-Fi access points, while NTT Docomo runs 180,000 access points and KT has 189,000.
KT’s proposal to provide a free Wi-Fi roaming service came after President Moon Jae-in pledged to work for a three-way agreement with China and Japan to introduce the free roaming service for travelers within the three countries.
He also vowed to require all public facilities and government offices to provide free Wi-Fi services to reduce household telecom expenses.
The three players plan to continue their partnership through 2022 to jointly prepare for the upcoming sporting events of the three countries — the 2018 Winter Games in Korea’s PyeongChang, the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.