KT, SK Telecom win IMT-2000 business

Consortiums led by SK Telecom and Korea Telecom (KT) each were selected Friday as the undertakers of the business of asynchronous mode IMT-2000, the next-generation telecommunication service.

LG Glocom, which competed with SK and KT for asynchronous mode service, dropped out.

Korea IMT-2000, led by Hanaro Telecom, a sole bidder in the synchronous mode service, failed to win licenses for the coveted business.

The Ministry of Information and Communication plans to accept applications from companies adopting the synchronous mode and select the undertaker of the business within next March.

IMT-2000 is a new mobile telecommunications technology that greatly expands the size and speed of transmissions, allowing users to conduct high-quality video conferencing through Internet-based mobile handsets.

The KT and SK consortiums plan to start operations next year.