KT Signs Major WiBro Deal With Intel

KT, Korea`s top fixed-line operator, said yesterday that it has agreed with the world`s largest chipmaker Intel to expand KT`s next-generation mobile technology "WiBro."

KT Chairman Lee Suk-chae signed a memorandum of understanding with Intel CEO Paul S. Otellini on large-scale cooperation in long-range wireless Internet access technology.

Under the agreement, notebook computers using Intel chipsets will have a built-in WiBro module. A chipset is a key set of a notebook computer`s components with a central processing unit, telecommunication module and graphic processing unit. Intel chipsets are used in 80 percent of PC notebooks worldwide.

Intel included WiFi functions into its chipsets to enable wireless Internet access. WiFi is used all around the world.

KT says its deal with Intel is an opportunity to spread its WiBro technology around the world, helping the Korean telecom giant to make a foray into overseas markets.

The world’s fourth-generation telecommunications competition is between mobile WiMAX led by Samsung Electronics and Intel and the long-term evolution led by European companies.

WiBro is the standard technology for mobile WiMAX developed by Korean companies such as KT, SK Telecom and Samsung Electronics. It has been in commercial use since 2006.

With fourth-generation telecom technology, WiBro will allow users to access the Internet in vehicles running at more than 100 kilometers per hour at the speed of wired broadband.

Also under the deal with Intel, the two companies will jointly develop technology for more efficient energy and wireless network capacity through "green mobile" cooperation. In addition, KT will use Intel’s cloud computing technology when it builds a data center. The two companies will also form a joint committee headed by their vice presidents for regular consultations.

KT Vice President Kim Il-young said the deal will reinvigorate Korea’s WiBro industry and foster related technology development and overseas expansion.

"(The deal) has paved the way for KT to take a leap as a global telecommunications service provider,” he said.

sanhkim@donga.com