Yesterday (15 Sep. 2009), I got very excited from early morning. It was due to a TMT related conference held in Seoul, Korea. The conference was officially called ‘Telefonica Global Project Conference’, organized by KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency).

[Global Collaboration between Telefonica and KOTRA]

Telefonica (if you don’t know this company, just Google it!) in fact came to Korea to find potential business partners in Korea. The conference was structured mainly in two sessions: 1) Understanding of Telefonica (the company, its global business, and technology/service); 2) Private meetings between Telefonica and potential Korean partners. Since Veyond Partners is not mobile service provider, we attended the first session only.

Kim Faura, the CEO of Telefonica, Cataluna, gave presentation on ‘Where does Telefonica come from’, ‘Where Telefonica is now’, and ‘How Telefonica is evolving’ to give big picture of the company and its strategy. Followed by this, Dr. Gerard Mula, Area Manager for Internet and Multimedia Technologies at Telefonica I+D (R&D center). He focused more on ‘How they innovate their technology and services’, ‘How they collaborate with global partners’ and ‘What areas they want to collaborate with potential Korean partners’.

[Presentation by Kim Faura]

They seem to visit Korea because Korea’s mobile tech companies have so advanced technologies and services. They are basically highly flexible in terms of business partnership area but their hypothetical fields of interests include mobile 3D video, mobile contents download, User profiling services, mobile advertisements, mobile social network, u-Health, etc.

There were less than 100 attendants in the conference. But next conference in 10th November by KOTRA seemed even more interesting. The ambitious conference was called ‘Global Mobile Vision 2009’ (www.globalmobilevision.com) Next time, I expect to meet not only Telefonica but also many other global companies (113 companies) such as T-Mobile, Sprint, NTT DoCoMo, Nokia, etc in one place.

I am also going to post the summary of interview with Kim Faura with one of Korea’s leading newspapers soon.

There is a battle outside and it is raging, for two Korean giants are struggling. KT & SKT threw all their strengths in the fight, downsizing investments and innovation. The recent interesting events concerning a hypothetic launch of iPhone are a part of this bigger picture.

[ iPhone’s deployment planning – Can you see Korea ? ]

“A penny is a penny and we need it”, Korean operators are in a tight spot, looking to keep their income to fuel the tussle. SK Telecom is the biggest Korean mobile operator with a 50.5% market share while KT, which merged KTF, has 32 %. The two giants are trying to retain customers while seducing competitor ‘ones in the saturated market caught in economic slowdown. Hence, companies cut network investment: on a year-to-year basis, KT reduced 60% down to KRW 621.9 billion, while marketing expenditure reached more than KRW 4 trillion.

Furthermore, a recent OECD report shows that annual Korean telcos customer spending are higher than OECD average (227$ > 171$) . Government and the Korean Communication Commission are aiming to lower prices, to suppress monthly basic fees and will maybe introduce MVNOs(mobile virtual network operators) to increase competition. Right now, every won is needed to maintain marketing pressure.This consideration weights heavily in the iPhone’s cold reception in Korea

Double-edged iPhone. A survey among smart phone users shows that more than 9 out of 10 are eager to buy an iPhone. As it comes from a tech-savvy portal with specific profile visitors, it doesn’t tell us that much about how successful iPhone will be in Korea. Anyway, telcos expect to secure at least 500 000 buyers and probably one million. But one of the main reasons Apple and Korean telcos cannot reach an agreement has to do with business model. Korean telcos do not want share any profits from communications service with Apple. In addition, Korean telcos are threatened by Apple’s business model like Appstore since Korean telcos have had full control for mobile contents.
The iPhone passed through restrictive technical norms, handset manufacturers lobby and now face half-hearted operators. SKT seems to be in a position to win iPhone exclusivity, with a release next month, but KT ‘s CFO also announced ambiguously two weeks ago:

“Apple iPhone will be in our smartphone line-up. [We expect that the] iPhone will help to expand the smartphone market and will contribute to increasing the ARPU”

Some jumped to conclusion and consider it is an official announcement leading to a launch both by SKT and KT, a first in iPhone exclusivity-only deployment history. However KT announced one week later customers with iPhone bought overseas will be allowed to subscribe its service, a violation of Korean regulations. SKT denounced a luring PR operation.

The strategy of KT is not clear. Did KT play a trick to force iPhone exclusivity negotiation to push SK telecom or to get maximum exposure for its own non-exclusive launch? iPhone is tangled in a complex tactic operation, involving large spending and market face-shaping. For the moment, customers yet have to wait and expect firm and precise releases.

Forbes has recently made a special report “Window Into The Wireless Future” about wireless technologies in South Korea. I am sure that it can be an interesting and insightful reference to those who are interested in the Korean TMT(Technology, Media, Telecoms) sector. I hope you enjoy reading this report, and if you have any questions regarding the contents of the report, you can email me and I will reply to your questions as early as possilbe.

Window Into The Wireless Future

Written by Elizabeth Woyke

Forbes travels to Korea for a peek at how the world of wireless is evolving

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RINGING IN THE FUTURE

The Future of Wireless

In Korea, it’s difficult to talk technology without encountering the word “ubiquitous.” Technologists here attach the term to words as varied as “life,” “computing” and “community.” The message: Every technology in Korea, from broadband to digital television, is designed to be always on, always with you…..

Why Korea Isn’t Rushing To 4G

Super-wired South Korea easily outranks the U.S. in most measures of broadband. But that might just change. In a surprising twist, with help from Korean companies, the U.S. could win the race to upgrade cellular networks to faster mobile broadband speeds…..

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PHONE INNOVATIONS TODAY

Cool Phones Out Of Reach (In America)

Smitten with LG’s ingeniously-named “Ice Cream” phone? Charmed by Samsung’s playful “Haptic Pop” handset? Be prepared to wait–in vain–since neither phone is slated for a U.S. launch…..

Creating LG’s Watch Phone

Few phones have fired up the public’s imagination like LG Electronics’ Watch Phone. The device, which packs advanced cellphone features into a wristwatch, was a hit at January’s Consumer Electronics Show and this week’s Mobile World Congress exhibition, where LG’s mobile head, Skott Ahn, used it to call Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer. Mobile operator Orange recently committed to selling the phone in Europe later this year…..

LG’s Weapon: Netbooks

In the U.S., consumer electronics maker LG Electronics is best known for its cellphones and flat-screen TVs. By this summer, the company hopes to make a name for itself in PCs too…..

Favorite Phone Fruits: Apple Vs. BlackBerry

South Korea would appear to be the ideal market for Research In Motion’s BlackBerry. After all, the country manufactures and consumes some of the world’s most sophisticated mobile technology. Koreans are big into mobile messaging. And the nation is wired for fast, 3G cellular service…..

Samsung, LG Design Face-off

The Korean electronics giants are currently ranked No. 2 and No. 3 worldwide in cellphone shipments after leader Nokia(NOK-news-people). Both are betting on design to keep them in the top three globally, and maybe even catapult them into the lead spot…..

Korea’s Pantech Rings Up U.S. Sales

It’s been a whirlwind year for Pantech Wireless. The Atlanta-based subsidiary of South Korean cellphone maker Pantech Group has released six phones in the last 12 months, including four in the last quarter. AT&T is promoting two of the handsets in TV spots as ideal holiday gifts. Patrick Beattie, Pantech Wireless’ vice president of marketing and sales, says the company has never been busier…..

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RINGING IN SOCIAL CHANGE

The Struggles of OhMyNews

Why pay for a pack of professional journalists when you can get by with gifted amateurs? Established in February 2000 by former investigative magazine journalist Yeon Ho Oh, OhmyNews is South Korea’s grand experiment in citizen journalism. It was touted by organizations from the BBC to Time magazine as the future of the media industry…..

OhMyNews Chooses Influence Over Income

South Korean citizen journalism site OhmyNews is in the red, but says its mission is on track. “OhmyNews is more concerned with being a social and media movement than a business,” says Jean K. Min, the site’s international communications director. “Our goal is to empower citizens.”…..

Grappling With Internet Addiction

Korea is a textbook example. The nation enjoys some of the fastest and cheapest broadband in the world. It also continually battles the adverse effects of being so wired, starting with Internet addiction and cybercrime….

Korea Bridges Digital Divide

Dr. Yeongi Son has a message for President Obama: If you’re serious about making broadband a priority, establish an agency dedicated to digital divide issues…..

Greening Korea

Unlike its neighbor Japn, South Korea is rarely associated with environmentalism. But without fanfare, some of Korea’s leading corporations are embracing renewable energy technologies…..