Since everybody are having their eyes on Las Vegas this week and 2008 just has started, also I must give some comments on what to expect on the technology side in 2008. A list from BBC (as mentioned in the previous post) suggests Ultra Mobile PC’s, IPTV, WIMAX, Mobile VoIP and “Web to go”. Korean ET News in turn suggests VoIP, IPTV, HSDPA, Revision A and WiBro (focused on Korea). The lists do correlate in many ways and I do not want to make my own prediction. Instead it is interesting to pinpoint LG as a company to have an eye open for. The huge conglomerate has interest in both the hardware and software side which makes it a very interesting and different market approach. They are not market leading anywhere but are present everywhere (almost) in the Korean TMT (Telecom, Media, Technology) sector.

They produce handsets, TV’s and other hardware through LG Electronics, provide IPTV, VoIP and Broadband services through LG Dacom/Powercom, they are a MNO via LG Telecom and so on. They don’t have a license to be service providers for WiBro but they have already released phones and computers with integrated support. So they have an interest in all of the fields popular media consider to be the “hot ones” in 2008. As the TMT sector keeps merging it will be very interesting to see how this will benefit LG. In 2008, they will launch the CDMA version of HSPA called Revision A as the only provider and will have the benefit towards the other 3g providers (KTF and SKT) by not having to take the burden of heavy investment. The success is not granted but they seem to be aiming at price conscious customers and the width of their services makes them competitive. They minimize the risks and at the same time does not miss out on any of the hot topics in TMT the coming years.

It is hard to not notice that the giant event Consumers Electronic Show (CES)  is taking place right now in glamorous Las Vegas. After a quick search for companies related to Korea I found 150 companies, a rather impressive number at such an international conference. However, when considering how world leading Korea is in fields such as mobile (Broadband and TV), e-sports, electronics (with giants like Samsung, iRiver, LG) and so on you realize that there should be more. I would also like to see more of these international events here in Seoul - a place where you don’t have to spend a lot of time to be impressed by the advanced technology.

Around the corner from my office a new UGC shop has opened with recording materials for video, audio and so on. I receive business cards with the possibility to scan with my cell phone camera and instantly get the contact information accessible in the phone. At the same time I can drive a car on the highway while streaming videos from the net with help from mobile Internet. Yes, I am impressed by all the new cool gadgets at CES but I wish Korean companies were better to market the competitive edge that does exist here and that so many visitors at CES would be interested in.

As a final argument for this I use this BBC news about the technologies on the rise 2008. The web to go (ubiquitous Internet access), Ultra mobile PC’s, IPTV, Wimax and mobile VoIP are considered the ones to keep an eye on this year. In many ways a list of 2006 or 2007 for Korea…

As 2007 has come to an end, it is a good time to be updated on the Korean mobile market. The market is rather stable and the market shares are rather intact between the three big ones in Korean Telecom - SKT, KTF and LGT.

SKT was fined a couple of years ago due to legislative problems for having a market share above 50% and they are therefore restricted to grow any more (which also means they are having serious international ambitions for the moment). However, as the number of users still increase (mobile penetration is around 90% today) they managed to increase the customer base with more than a million. 2007 was a good year for the mobile market in general and the users increased more than before. However, as the amount of users soon will be peaking, the fight among the existing users will be tougher. LGT are the price pressers and they launched a service of free calls among its customers (for a small monthly fee) in 2007 which forced SKT and KTF to include similar price changes. LGT is not the one with the most new customers in absolute numbers, but they still managed to steal a percent from KTF. KTF are emphasizing the HSPA service very much for the moment.

For more information about the Korean mobile market, feel free to contact me or my company Veyond