south korea

China to begin home-grown 3G technology trial

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:59:54 -0400

China Mobile announce plans to commence commercial trials of China's 3G technology TD-SCDMA (Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access) on April 1. The carrier plans to set-up the commercial trials in eight cities across the country: including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Five of the soon-to-be 3G-enabled cities are hosting events for the Olympics this summer. The carrier plans to give 20,000 users handsets worth between $300 and $400 each and a data card free of charge. The initial handsets that will be used in the trial were made by China's Lenovo, Hisense, ZTE and New Postcom as well as South Korea's Samsung and LG.

For more on the trials:
- read this article from Xinua

ALSO NOTED: Apple-Google for auction bid? BIC takes on fuel cells for cell phones; and more...

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 06:59:50 -0500

> One columnist speculates that AT&T disclosed its planned 3G iPhone to get back at Apple for supposedly teaming up with Google for the 700 MHz auction. Hmm. Article

> BIC says it plans to design disposable fuel cell cartridges for refueling mobile phone batteries. Article

And Finally... The much-hyped exploding mobile phone incident that reportedly killed a man in South Korea turns out to be all hype. Article

ALSO NOTED: Handango hires Stone as CEO; N82's 5MP camera; and much more...

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 06:59:50 -0500

> Handango appoints former Amp'd executive Bill Stone as its new CEO. Release

> Verizon Wireless launches the XV6800 handset. Article | Image

> Nokia's N82 features a five megapixel camera. Article | Image

And Finally... South Korea investigates reported exploding cell phone incident that killed a man. Article

Samsung inks $600M marketing deal with Starcom

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 06:59:56 -0500

Samsung has decided to award Starcom its $600 million media buying account, according to a report from AdAge. Starcom beat out MindShare for the handset maker's account, which will include ad buying in some 60 markets including the U.S. The new partner comes on after Samsung worked with WPP's Berlin Cameron for two years and JWT on creative and branding for less than one year. Rumors indicate that the two companies could not agree on proper compensation. Samsung has long been known as a difficult account since it requires its agencies to work with a local ad agency in South Korea called Cheil Communications.

For more on the deal:
- read this article from AdAge

AT&T's HSUPA launches with Sierra data card

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 06:59:57 -0400

AT&T is now offering the Sierra Wireless AirCard 881 for AT&T data subscribers looking to take advantage of its new HSUPA network: average upload speeds for the users will be between 500 Kbps and 800 Kbps. The carrier will announce HSUPA availability in select U.S. markets later this fall. The data card will also help users take advantage of HSDPA speeds ranging between 600 to 1,400 Kbps. The data card is backwards compatible with EDGE/GPRS and mobile networks worldwide, including those in Japan and South Korea.

For more on AT&T's HSUPA launch:
- read this press release

SPOTLIGHT: Sun: Java Phone report lost in translation

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 06:59:52 -0400

Sun Microsystem's CEO Scott McNealy claims that a report out of South Korea that Sun was working with Samsung on a Java Phone, was lost in translation. "I never said that," McNealy said. "I'm not really sure where they got that. I think it was a translation problem." Article

SK Telecom: We're not buying Sprint

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 06:59:55 -0400

The Korea Economic Daily reported today that SK Telecom planned on acquiring Sprint Nextel and was in the process of contacting private equity funds to help with the purchase, but the carrier immediately denied the report. "It is totally groundless,"Ã‚Â SK Telecom spokesperson Song Gwang-hyun said.

SK Telecom claims more than half of the 40 million mobile subscribers in South Korea, has a $1 billion stake in China Unicom and has a growing mobile service in Vietnam. SK Telecom is also the half-owner of U.S. MVNO Helio, which it co-owns with Earthlink.

For more on the report:
- read this article from Shanghai Daily

ALSO NOTED: SlingPlayer for PalmOS; Vodafone taps Monolink; and much more...

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 06:59:50 -0400

> Brightpoint and Virgin Mobile USA expand integrated logistics services agreement. Release

> Vodafone may invest in Vietnam mobile carrier. Article

> SlingPlayer for PalmOS breaks out of beta. Article

> Vodafone launches mobile banking through Monolink. Article

And Finally... Meet a typical mobile worker in South Korea: One of the 100,000 "replacement drivers" in Seoul that is on-call to drive an inebriated person and their car home after a late night at the bars. Article

MVNOs may enter South Korea

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 06:59:55 -0400

South Korea's Ministry of Information and Communication announced that the country is considering a move to allow MVNOs and other new wireless carriers into the market. The aim is to help cut mobile tariffs and promote competition, according to the Ministry. The government is currently strategizing on how to implement a system to allow the MVNOs to lease capacity on the incumbent networks. Politicians, civic groups and the like have been clamoring recently that the incumbent carriers: SK Telecom, KT Freetel and LG Telecom are overcharging their subscribers. So, "SK Helio" cometh?

For more on South Korea's MVNO talk:
- check out this WSJ article (sub. req.)

ex-Sprint COO Len Lauer knocks WiMAX

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 20:01:37 -0400

At the Wireless Innovation Conference yesterday, Qualcomm's EVP and group president Len Lauer, who previously served as Sprint's COO, said WiMAX is not only more expensive to deploy than cellular networks, but it also doesn't provide anymore bandwidth than cellular. Lauer said: "On the down link [WCDMA] can run 2 to 4 to 6 to 8 mb per second and that is similar to what we are getting with cable modems throughout the world. It's an assertion that WiMAX can only deliver these speeds, and you can't do that with WCDMA and CDMA. In fact you can." Lauer also points to reports of bad reviews of South Korea's WiMAX network: "If you look at it now in South Korea there are a number of press articles written that the results are very disappointing, they only have a few thousand users. But if you look at CDMA or WCDMA where there are hundreds of thousands to millions of users." The remarks surprised some industry pundits because Qualcomm just recently acquired the mobile WiMAX assets of TeleCIS.

For more on Lauer's anti-WiMAX talk:
- check out this GigaOM article

ALSO NOTED: Brazil Movil to buy TIM?; Carriers can't go it alone anymore; and much more...

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 19:01:30 -0500

> Brazil Movil to buy Telecom Italia unit for €8 billion. Article

> NTSB urges ban on mobile phone use for motor coach/school bus drivers. Article

> Trend: Mobile carriers can no longer go it alone--as evidenced by 3's recent announcement. Article

> Mobile users in South Korea to reach 40 million. Blog

> Metric: More than 15 percent of people carry two mobile phones. Blog

> Fujitsu bets big on WiMAX. Article

And Finally... Smartphone use among physicians is on the rise. Article

Internet clip shows breakable Samsung phone

Thu, 07 Sep 2006 20:01:34 -0400

An interesting story coming out of South Korea: A 21-second video is circulating the Internet showing a smiling foreign woman breaking the Samsung Ultra Edition handset in half. The video is entitled "Samsung handset, easy to break at one try!" Needless to say, Samsung is fighting back. The company believes the handset had been damaged earlier to make it appear easy to break. "We are considering taking action after conducting a probe into who made and distributed (the video clip)," a Samsung spokesman told AFP.

To read more about the breaking Samsung handset:
- check out this article from AFP

ALSO NOTED: Pantech launches own-branded handset in Canada; WiFi ready in Mountainview; and much more...

Wed, 16 Aug 2006 20:01:30 -0400

> Pantech Group, South Korea's second largest mobile phone maker, said it has launched its own-branded handset for the first time in Canada. Article

> The WiFi network Google built for Mountain View became generally available on Wednesday. Article

> China Mobile's first-half net profit rose 26 percent. Article

> Brightpoint says that it has revised its estimate to increase the number of units which it expects to handle in 2006. The handset distributor now expects to handle between 55 million and 60 million units for the year. Article

And Finally... Indonesia uses cell phones to combat bird flu. Article (WSJ sub. req.)

ALSO NOTED: S. Korea curtails mobile spam; Kodiak inks deal with MTS Allstream; and much more...

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 20:00:41 -0400

> Kodiak networks inks a deal with MTS Allstream for its push-to-talk service. Release

> To curtail mobile spam, South Korea limits text messages to 1,000 per user per day. Blog

> Report: Netherlands, Denmark and Iceland each beat out South Korea, which held the top spot previously, for broadband penetration. Article

> Leap expands in Oregon through a JV with local carriers. Article

And Finally... As if there weren't enough psychological diseases: The tech junkie that just has to have the latest gadget may also be called a "neophiliac," one who has an overwhelming desire for the new and novel. So say the blogs and a book, a real one. Blog

Korea could revoke LG Telecom's 3G license

Wed, 05 Jul 2006 20:01:36 -0400

LG Telecom in South Korea could now lose its 3G license after it announced it would delay the rollout of the network in favor of upgrading its 1.8 GHz CDMA2000 network. LG Telecom was awarded an operating license in the 2 GHz band for CDMA2000 services in 2001, and Korea's telecom minister has suggested the ministry could revoke the license or penalize the company. It's no wonder the company is focusing all of its efforts on EV-DO Rev. A. There is a broadband wireless war coming, with SK Telecom deploying HSDPA, KT and SK Telecom offering WiBro and EV-DO services from several operators.

For more about LG Telecom's decision not to invest in its 3G license:
- read this article from cellular-news.com

Chip makers file antitrust suit against Qualcomm

Sun, 02 Jul 2006 20:01:38 -0400

Qualcomm's royalty rates continue to be the area of contention. Chip makers Texas Instruments and Broadcom have filed a complaint with South Korea's antitrust regulator, claiming Qualcomm is using its dominant market status in the country to engage in unfair business practices. The two say Qualcomm's exclusive rights to CDMA creates unbeatable power in Korea. Earlier this year, two Korean makers of handset software, Nextreaming and THINmultimedia, filed a similar complaint against Qualcomm. Texas Instruments and Broadcom are also part of the anti-trust action pending with the European Union against Qualcomm.

To read more about the anti-trust complaint against Qualcomm in Korea:
- take a look at this report from The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)

South Korean operators to launch WiBro this week

Tue, 27 Jun 2006 20:01:36 -0400

KT and SK Telecom will launch their WiBro mobile Internet service to the South Korean market this week. WiBro is South Korea's home-grown mobile WiMAX-compatible technology (802.16e) that is actually mobile, giving speeds of 1-3 Mbps while on the move at up to 120 km per hour. The launch will be an interesting test for the technology. The Koreans are known for throwing out technology and tweaking it as they go. Another interesting test for WiBro will be to see how well it does in a market that will see HSDPA services from SK Telecom, EV-DO Rev. A services from LGT and EV-DO services from several operators, notes Mike Roberts, principal analyst with Informa Telecoms and Media. In fact, there were already 14.77 million EV-DO subscribers in Korea at the end of 2005, according to Informa. The industry has been clamoring to see how well mobile WiMAX will do against 3G technologies.

For more about WiBro in Korea:
- see this article from Telecoms.com

Helio targets Korean Americans

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 20:01:36 -0400

While the MVNO Helio mostly claims it's targeting young, tech-savvy geeks, a report in The Washington Post claims the service is also going after Korean-Americans. The move is a smart one for any data-based wireless service, since South Korea has a huge subscriber base for mobile content services. Many believe will bring in large amounts of revenue in the years ahead. The assumption is that Korean Americans keep in touch with friends and families in Korea, which might lead to more uptake of services in the U.S. Also, Koreans that move to the U.S. say it's like taking a step back in time a few years when it comes to wireless technology--that's where Helio comes in. The MVNO is a JV between Earthlink and South Korea's SK Telecom, so the service has the credentials to make good.

For more on Helio targeting Korean Americans:
- see this article from The Washington Post

Korean mobile operators to tear down walled gardens?

Mon, 09 Jan 2006 19:01:36 -0500

As is the case with most advances in the tech industry, South Korea is leading the way. Under pressure from the government, mobile operators in the country are moving toward tearing down the mobile walled gardens that make it difficult for users to access any Web page they want. The move will allow users to set their own homepages, too. Some analysts hope Helio, the MVNO JV from SK EarthLink, follows its parent's lead and breaks the walled garden trend in the U.S. as well.

For more on South Korea's move to an open mobile Internet:
- see this article from The Korea Times

Eonex enters South Korean CDMA chip market

Sun, 23 Oct 2005 20:01:38 -0400

South Korea-based Eonex launched a phone with LG Electronics that uses one of its own core semiconductors for mobile handsets. The handset, N1000, will soon go on sale to SK Telecom subscribers. Eonex said it is also working with other domestic and foreign handset manufacturers to develop phones that could launch as early as the first half of next year. Eonex claims to be one of four companies in the world to make and sell chips that run CDMA-based mobile phones beside QUALCOMM. The other three companies are Texas Instruments, Philips of the Netherlands and VIA Telecom of Taiwan.

South Korea's mobile phone makers currently spend an estimated $2.8 billion a year purchasing similar chips from QUALCOMM. Eonex's entrance into the market is seen by many as a clear harbinger of declining market dominance for the US-based chip maker. South Korean handset makers have also recently complained about QUALCOMM's offer of cheaper royalties for Chinese OEMs.

For more on the start-up Eonex:
- check out this piece from Asia Times Online