Oct. 15, 2009 (The Korea Times) -- By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
South Korea's KT Corp. (NYSE:KTC) and Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERICY) of Sweden have formed a united front to nurture eco-friendly information and technology to be used in mobile telecommunication systems.
"With the help of Ericsson, KT will move toward constructing a mobile communication system based on a cloud communication center (CCC) computing structure," a KT spokesman said Thursday.
CCC is widely regarded as the next-generation telecommunication technology to maximize digital-related structures by separating the radio unit and digital unit from base stations.
Under the partnership, KT will set up CCC base stations across the country and conduct necessary tests for early commercialization with the Swedish telecom equipment company. KT officials say nurturing capability in higher capacity mobile networks could be a key factor for sustainable green growth.
"Trial testing is a part of the company's strategy to put eco-friendly telecom technologies into networks," said the official.
Ericsson and KT have already initiated collaboration to use mobile broadband and other communication technologies, such as machine to machine, to create a green system.
As part of this system, Ericsson, together with leading Korean companies, will establish a community for the development of sustainable climate solutions based on 4G technologies and, given mutual success, will further expand its presence in the market, said the telecom equipment giant.
Ericsson, the world's largest telecom equipment vendor, has already been involved in some pioneering 4G deployment projects.
The mutual partnership with KT is in line with Ericsson's view of the higher market potential in South Korea, analysts say, which as one of the world's most advanced telecoms markets, will provide sufficient regulatory support and operator cooperation to create a 4G-based system.
With both mobile and household broadband penetration levels having exceeded 90 percent, the Korean telecom industry is moving rapidly toward services convergence, as well as next-generation network technologies.
