KCC (Korea Communications Commission) allowed Voice over Wibro service from next year. KCC is hoping that Wibro market will be more active with this decision. Wibro subscribers in Korea are  only 200 thousand since its launching in 2006.

KT are expected to start mobile network business by itself with its Wibro network. If KT will provide mobile network business with Wibro, the cost will be cheaper than other MNOs’ operating cost.  KCC decided to assign the remaining frequency for Wibro, 2360 ~ 2400 MHz, to new operator preferentially. KCC is also considering to assign 2.5 GHz to new Wibro operator. Due to this, Cable TV operator and other company could begin mobile network business through Wibro.

Today, KCC will allow to use 010 access code, mobile phone prefix in Korea, for Wibro operator. That means Wibro operators can provide mobile network service like existing MNOs. If more companies are comming mobile network industry with Wibro network, more various mobile services would be available for Korean customers.

I recently started to subscribe T-Login, SK Telecom’s WiBro service. Followings are some pictures of T-login modem and screenshots for installing and using WiBro, T-login.

To use T-login service, I need a WiBro modem. In the WiBro modem box set, there are WiBro modem(USB type), USIM card and manual.

This is USIM card for WiBro service, to use WiBro I need to put this into the WiBro modem.

I put USIM card into WiBro modem.

Then I put WiBro modem to my laptop, and it is almost ready to connect

As soon as I put WiBrom modem into my laptop, automatically driver installer is beginning

After installing WiBro modem driver, WiBro access program is executed.

As the picture above, now the laptop is connected to the internet through USB WiBro modem.

Using WiBro access, I can be connected to the internet as above !

I tested WiBro in driving car. Watch the following demonstration video clip.

WiBro is the Korean version of Mobile WiMax. There are two WiBro carriers, KT and SK Telecom, and their WiBro service brands are KT WiBro and T Login respectively.

The WiBro adoption rate in Korea has been vey slow due to the operators’ low motivation and low interest of customer. WiBro subscribers were, by the end of August 2008, 188 thousand for KT and 3 thousand for SK Telecom. The penetration rate at that time was only 0.4% and ARPU was only 10 US dollars.

First of all, the operators were not motivated to create the new markets in wireless broadband. Korean operators such as KT and SK Telecom do not regard WiBro as their alternative product to HSDPA and FTTH, but as the complementary goods to them. A complementary good does not make enough profit as a single business unit and the investments are also limited. Consequently, the coverage of WiBro network in Korea is limited to the Metropolitan area including Seoul. As their coverage focus is limited to outdoor, the indoor network quality where Wi-Fi usually covers does not meet customers’ expectation. Additionally, they are not active in their advertising and promotion to allure subscribers. Consequently the adoption rate of WiBro is relatively slow, and it will unlikely be changed for the next two or three years.

Secondly, the customers are not in desperate need for WiBro. Basically, they do not value WiBro access to the broadband internet while they are moving. Even the professional segment, which is the most attractive market segment, is not interested in WiBro. Given the fact that they can access the Internet through the stable and excellent wired broadband or Wi-Fi, they cannot find strong reasons to use WiBro, which requires extra money. In addition, the WiBro device, a laptop modem style with limited functions fails to induce customers. Recently, however, PMP (Personal Media Player) and navigation are diversifying their device portfolio in order to expand its target segment and to stimulate the unmet needs of customers. In this regards, they consider including WiBro functions in their products. It would be an alternate solution to enhance the adoption rate that we provide customers with WiBro modem in bundled or built-in manner.

However, this slow WiBro adoption in Korea could be changed soon. SK Telecom recently announced that they would focus on WiBro for their wireless internet strategy. SK Telecom will invest 815 billion won in total for WiBro by 2010. Also they are planning to build the WiBro network system with ‘Wave 2′, twice faster than the existing one, by 2009.

KT is also planning to invest 1 trillion won in total by 2011. KT made strategic partnership with device manufacturer such as Samsung Electroninc, LG Electronincs, TG Sambo, and Cowon for improving cooperation system related to WiBro.

The chart above is WiBro subscriber forecast by 2009 based on the data from June 2006 to June 2008. So far, the blue line is more accurately reflecting the current market situation, WiBro Subscribers are still around 180 thousand.

These days both SK Telecom and KT are promoting WiBro a lot. To promote WiBro, both offer free WiBro for 3 to 6 months to their new customers. With such an active promotion, SK Telecom attracted more than one thousand people as their new WiBro subscriber only in 13 days.

Currently it is still hard to predict whether WiBro is going to be a success in Korea or not. I assume that most of the present WiBro subscribers are using WiBro thorugh the free promotion, so it is yet difficult to say how the market will look like for the longer term.