LG Uplus Corp.’s ‘IoT’ hard hat (image: LG Uplus Corp.)
SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp., South Korea’s second- and third-largest mobile carriers, unveiled a deal Thursday to work together on commercializing the Internet of Things (IoT) technology.
The IoT technology, which allows everyday appliances to link to the Internet, is seen as one of the major technological developments of the Internet and a new revenue source for telecom firms.
KT and LG Uplus plan to launch a commercial IoT service in the first quarter of next year while jointly building a nationwide infrastructure.’
The two companies will use a narrow-band IoT technology, one of several global standards for the new technology.
SK Telecom Co., the nation’s top mobile carrier, has adopted another IoT standard called the LoRa technology.
Compared with the LoRa technology, the narrow-band IoT technology offers long-range data transmission capability, allowing people to monitor gas meters and help them find lost items, KT and LG Uplus officials said.
Last August, KT and Finnish telecom firm Nokia successfully conducted a trial service of the narrow-band IoT technology.
LG Uplus has also expanded its IoT-related business to the public and industrial sectors.
KT and LG Uplus will focus on developing IoT services for energy, the environment and transportation.
Ahn Seong-joon, head of the IoT business division at LG Uplus, said, “Through cooperation with KT, we will build an IoT ecosystem at an early date.”
Kim Joon-geun, head of the IoT business division at KT, said the market for the IoT-related services is expected to see “unlimited growth.”
KT and LG Uplus will forge cooperation to help the narrow-band IoT technology become a global standard, company officials said.
(Yonhap)
