KT Corp appointed to WiMAX Forum board

Stuart Corner
Sunday, 30 October 2005 13:33

IT Industry - Strategy

The WiMAX Forum has named KT Corp, the leading provider of high-speed wireless broadband in Korea, to its board of directors.

The move is significant because KT's focus is not WiMAX but a Koran variant, known as WiBro. However, the WiMAX Forum plays down this distinction. In its press release it says that "KT plans to launch WiBro service in Korea using mobile WiMAX technology in 2006."

A recent report from ABI Research even went so far as to suggest that WiBro would dominate 'true' WiMAX in the market, saying: "WiBro was considered only as a South Korean domestic network but that perception is changing rapidly. Built-in compatibility with mobile WiMAX (802.16e), coupled with already-designed terminals and network equipment could make WiBro, and the participating vendors, powerful players on the world market."

KT will be represented on the Forum board by Dr Jong-Seog Koh, vice president of KT's Mobile Internet Business Group. He has more than 16 years of experience in the telecommunications industry and has been a member of IEEE for more than 20 years.

Koh said: "At KT, we are working with WiMAX Forum companies to prove that WiMAX is here today, and as a company, we work diligently to assure that WiMAX services and value-added applications will meet the growing demands of users for years to come."

Currently, the WiMAX Forum board comprise executives from Airspan Networks, Alvarion, Aperto Networks, AT&T, BT, Fujitsu, Intel, Samsung, Sprint, Wi-LAN, ZTE Corporation, and now KT. The Forum has 235 member companies.