Always on Demand Voice, Video and Data Debuts in Korea

By Satyen K. Bordoloi

 

Korea is set to join the world of high-speed wireless broadband Internet for video, voice and data with the combination of two indigenous technologies for mobile broadcasting and wireless Internet connectivity.

 

The beta service being launched by KT, one of the largest telecom operators in Korea and KBS, a TV station, utilizes WiBro and terrestrial DMB (digital multimedia broadcasting). 

 

WiBro, abbreviation of wireless broadband, enables people on the move to remain connected to the Internet at fixed-line Web access speeds.

 

People available of this service will be able to watch continuous terrestrial DMB mobile broadcasting after inserting a USB type device to a dedicated WiBro terminal. This service is a substantial advancement to the ones being offered by DMB devices due to it realizing two-way applications.

 

Users can check out background information about the TV programs broadcast on their terminal and at the same time, replay past editions of programs giving rise to video on demand on the move.

 

Services like T-commerce, interactive games, quiz events and real-time polls, are also being planned by KT and KBS.

 

Both the companies are expecting the indigenous nature of the WiBro and DMB technologies, to assist in the service’s commercial viability. Though both are in an embryonic stage, progress has been made, as terrestrial TV programs are easily accessible using DMB due to open-air sites and supplemented by relay equipments underground known as gap fillers.

 

“This heralds the full-fledged advent of the convergence of services between broadcasting and telecommunications,” KT senior vice president Hong Won-pyo said in a statement. “This cooperation would be a win-win solution because both DMB and WiBro can gain momentum to become mainstream features both locally and globally.”

 

KT, formerly owned by the state and privatized fully in 2002, has come a long way. It started pilots of WiBro earlier this year and is seeking to launch it commercially next month.

 

DMB was launched last December with KBS and five other DMB broadcasters already offering seven video and 13 audio channels with data channels expected to be added later this year.

 

WiBro, with it ubiquitous high-speed Internet connection, compliments DMB terminals like cell phones, laptops and in-car devices, that are now open for interactive services. Experts opine, that the possibilities of what the marriage between WiBro and DMB can do, is indeed quite extensive.