KT showcases cutting-edge techs at global telecom fair

Models promote KT’s telecom technologies and services during the International Telecommunication Union Telecom World 2017 fair at the BEXCO exhibition center in Busan, Tuesday. / Courtesy of KT

By Yoon Sung-won

KT is exhibiting its latest telecom technology-based applications from internet of things (IoT) services and smart energy grids to an artificial intelligence (AI) digital assistant at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Telecom World 2017 fair in Busan.

The nation’s leading telecom company stressed that it has prepared the largest exhibition among all Korean enterprises. It is the third consecutive year for the company to participate in the ITU Telecom World.

“As Korea’s leading telecom service provider, KT will push to showcase innovative fifth-generation (5G) telecom technologies to the globe, helping the country take the leadership of the 5G telecom service market worldwide,” a KT official said.

Hosted by the ITU, Telecom World is the world’s largest telecom expo and forum that includes both public and private sector players from 193 member nations.

Telecom agency official, policymakers, CEOs of global telecom enterprises and industry experts are invited to the expo and forum to join in announcing new technologies and to seek business partnerships.

More than 300 ministerial high-tech officials from more than 130 countries as well as about 10,000 business executives and industry experts are visiting this year’s Telecom World.

At its exhibition, which is the second-largest among all booths at Telecom World 2017 following the Korean government’s, KT said it is presenting network technologies including 5G networks and GiGA Wire.

In particular, GiGA Wire allows up to 1 gigabit-per-second internet speed on a network built with copper wire, not fiber optic cables. This technology has drawn much attention from the global market where telecom companies have difficulties in establishing new fiber optic networks infrastructure.

KT said it started providing services based on this technology to Boston on Sept. 15.

The company has also introduced its AI-based intelligent energy management system, the KT-Micro Energy Grid, as one of its key future businesses. Based on variable energy consumption patterns in a building, the system is capable of projecting expected power demand and provides information on how to reduce consumption.

KT’s “GiGA IoT Smart Air” has also been on display. This system, which is currently used on Jeju Island, collects air pollution data on the island using IoT technologies and helps the regional government formulate and implement environment protection policies.

“We plan to expand its application nationwide through a project we call Air Map Korea to help people better deal with fine dust in the air,” a KT official said.

KT also exhibited its project that aims at preventing the spread of infectious diseases around the globe. The telecom company taps into handset roaming data of those who enter the country to analyze their travel history to regions contaminated by an infectious disease.

The project was included as a part of the joint statement announced at the G20 summit this past July. KT said it is also in discussions with countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East to provide the technology.

For consumer projects, KT presented its AI-based voice-recognizing digital assistant it calls GiGA Genie. Particularly for this event, the Seoul-based company demonstrated the foreign language support that can be used at hotels.

Besides exhibitions, the telecom company said it has provided network system support and network optimization services for both wired and wireless connections near the Telecom World 2017 venue.