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Information Technology Will Have Fundamental Impact onThe Way People Live and Do Business
Electronic communication has played an integral part in developing Korea`s economyover the past four decades. Now with the country becoming one of the most advancedinfo-tech markets in the world, policymakers and businesses are facing the challengeof keeping growth alive in the matured telecom sector."The advancement of information technology will have a fundamental impact on theway people live and do business. It would be an understatement to say that noindustry segment or technology in the past, whether it`s the introduction of electricity,automobiles and electronic goods, ever had a greater influence on society or thecourse of history the way information technology is doing now," said Chin Dae-je, theminister of information and communication, during a policy report to the presidentialoffice last month."We are now approaching an environment where people could stay connectedanytime, anywhere and on any device. The boundaries between industries are becoming irreverent and this trend of digital convergence is generation new marketsand products," he said.It was 121 years ago today that Korea started its first modern postal services, after King Gojong of the Joseon Dynasty announced the establishment of a state-run postoffice. The post office was forced to halt services just 18 days later, after its buildingwas burned down during a coup attempt. It was another 10 years before the country printed stamps again.The humble beginning of Korea`s public communication services is deceptiveconsidering the current situation where the country finds itself at the cutting edge of the information society. Korea has made major strides in information andcommunication technology over the past few decades, progressing as a globaltrendsetter with one of the world`s highest wired and wireless penetration rates.In 1960, Korea had a telephone penetration rate of 0.36 per 100 inhabitants, barelyone-10th of the then world average. By 1981, Korea had caught up with the worldaverage and at the end of 2002 the country had more than 48.8 telephone subscribers per 100 inhabitants, which was almost three times more than the world average.Today, more than 92 percent of Korean households have a fixed-line telephone, whilethe mobile penetration rate exceeds 75 percent. As of March, the number of fixed-linetelephone users was 22.9 million, while the mobile-phone population grew to 37.1million out of a population of 48 million. Broadband Internet penetration, which was59.4 percent in 2003, now stands at 70.2 percent.The information-technology sector also plays an important part in the nation`s export-
 
driven economy. Info-tech exports reached $74.7 billion last year, up 29 percent from2003, with increasing sales for mobile phones and semiconductors. Added-valuegenerated by info-tech products and services accounted for 37 percent of grossdomestic product in 2003, up from 12.1 percent in 1994."The development of a series of innovative technologies from TDX in the 1980s toCDMA and broadband Internet since the 1990s has established Korea as a global IT powerhouse. As a result the IT industry has emerged as a key driving force of theKorean economy," said Chin."However, we cannot afford to be complacent with the past achievement of theKorean IT industry, since today`s winner-takes-all society allows only a company or acountry with the world`s best technologies to survive the fierce competition acrossinternational borders. We are focusing on adopting new info-tech services ahead of competitors, commercialize them and preoccupy the IT service market to securefuture growth," he said.
National IT strategy
Since 2003, the government had been pushing a new national info-tech strategy,dubbed IT839, designating eight new services, three network new infrastructures andnine manufacturing sectors as the next-generation, high-tech growth engines. Thegovernment hopes the new growth engines will lead the economy for the next decade,adding strength to the national drive toward achieving $20,000 per capita income.The eight new services are portable Internet (WiBro), mobile television (DMB), homenetworking, vehicle-based information systems (telematics), radio-frequencyidentification (RFID) technology, W-CDMA mobile telephony, digital television broadcasting and voice-over Internet protocol (VoIP) services.To provide the backbone network for the new services, the government and industrywill develop three advanced infrastructures including the broadband convergencenetwork (BcN), a massive Internet protocol providing connections speeds between 50mbps to 100 mbps, sensor-based computing networks and the next-generation Internet platform Internet protocol version 6 (IPv6).By enhancing the aforementioned technologies and network infrastructure, thegovernment hopes to foster production in nine industrial sectors comprising mobilehandsets, digital televisions and broadcast devices, home network equipment, system-on-chip products, next-generation personal computers, embedded software, digitalcontent and solutions, vehicle-based information equipment and intelligent robot products.The IT839 strategy is an essential part of the government`s roadmap plan to integrateinformation and communication technology infrastructure with urban developmentand build an environment where people can enjoy access to high-speed networks andadvanced communication services anywhere and anytime through a ubiquitouscomputing network.
 
Through the comprehensive rebuilding project, dubbed U-Korea, the governmenthopes to facilitate further economic growth and lay the foundation for the nationalinitiative toward achieving $20,000 per capita income."U-Korea is what I would call a `national meta plan,` where the roles and realms of government, businesses and individuals expand in different ways and dimensionsfrom what is now. Strengthening the relationship between the public and privatesector, as with academia and industry, and building a communication structure thatcould add efficiency in planning and management will be critical in achieving whatwe envision through U-Korea," said Ha Won-gyu, from the Electronics andTelecommunications Research Institute.
Broadband convergence
The deployment plan for the broadband convergence network is seen as thegovernment`s most notable attempt to create an enhanced info-tech environment tocope with the trends of media convergence, providing an environment where wiredand wireless communication may combine seamlessly under computing networks.The broadband convergence network is conceived as a massive Internet protocol that provides connections at speeds of 50 mbps to 100 mbps, or about 50 times faster thanconventional broadband services now offered. Designed to enable people to connectfrom a wide range of terminals from nearly anywhere, policymakers hope the systemcan provide the backbone for future technologies by overlapping voice, video anddata on a single platform.Industry watchers expect Internet protocol-based television, next-generation mobiletelephony and portable Internet to be the killer applications for the new network."The broadband convergence network is the core of our national info-tech strategy.By successfully integrating the broadband convergence network with advanced end-user applications, Korea will be at least five years ahead of other developed countriesin information-based consumer services," said Seo Seok-jin, director of theCommunication Ministry`s broadband convergence network division.
Consortia picked
In August last year, the government picked three consortia, respectively led bytelecom operators KT Corp., SK Telecom Co. and Dacom Corp., to conduct the broadband convergence network trial operations that are scheduled to run in 1,350households in the cities of Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Gwangju and Daejeon through theend of this year, while attracting around 2 million users. Commercial services areexpected to go online in 2006. Nationwide coverage is expected by 2010.The government plans to generate 8 trillion won ($7.7 billion) in private sector investment for the pilot projects this year. About 5.5 trillion won of the investmentwill come from the country`s major telecom operators - KT, SK Telecom,Hanarotelecom Inc. and Dacom. The remainder of the budget will be provided byland-based television stations and cable program providers planning to have a part in
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