Era of Ubiquitous Networks
ICC2005 presents 692 papers for publication

The 40th IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC2005 in Seoul) wrapped up its five-day session in Seoul on May 20, the first Asian ICC conference, with leading technical specialists from around the world presenting tutorials and papers on the latest ICT technologies.
True to the theme of ICC2005 in Seoul: "Toward the Era of Ubiquitous Networks:" reflecting the trend of today, the conference featured the latest developments in telecommunications from a technical perspective and discussed likely trends with the tutorials presented by prestigious experts.
During the conference, 692 papers were presented and published with an acceptance rate of 35 percent. A total of 2,150 papers were submitted to the nine symposia including the general conference. Out of the 27 proposals, 15 best tutorials were presented, including five full-day tutorials and 10 half-day tutorials. The subjects of the tutorials covered most fundamental contemporary issues in the fields of broadband communications, next-generation networks, wireless communications and networks, UWB communications, ad-hoc networks, radio resource management, service quality, mobility and security.
For the business application sessions (BAS), ICC2005 in Seoul held 11 sessions that covered the most practical and promising state-of-the-art technologies that are of great interest to competitive communication service providers, venders, and operators. The subjects included broadband wired and wireless access networks, competition of 3G and Wi-Fi, broadband services and applications, convergence of broadcasting and telecommunications, challenges of mobile communications industry, impacts of communication standards, Internet technologies for communication, home electronics and networks, sensor and ad-hoc networks, and radio spectrum policy.
Lee Yong-kyung, KT president-CEO and chairman of the ICC2005 Executive Committee, said in his welcoming speech during the opening plenary of the conference that as a global community of diverse members that shares a common interest of advancing communications technology, the IEEE ComSoc had served as a catalyst for technological innovation since its inception 50 years ago. ComSoc has fostered original studies in all aspects of communications service, contributing to the development of a multitude of products, systems and technologies, geared toward meeting new market demands in diverse areas such as personal communications services, multimedia communications systems and optical communications, he said. Many of today's remarkable developments in communications are direct results of ComSoc achievements, said the KT president, adding that a good case in point would be the Wireless LAN and Portable Internet Service, which a series of IEEE 802.16 standards has played a crucial role in paving the way for its commercialization. "We are currently living in an era of rapid transformation in the way we learn, work, communicate, and carry out our day-to-day business. As the theme of the conference suggests, the concept of ?biquitous communication?is slowing but surely becoming a reality as we approach the era of ubiquitous networks. Korea has been making steady progress in its journey toward the ubiquitous era through the remarkable success in broadband during the last six years" he noted.
The robust investment in network infrastructure that enabled this dramatic change, created an explosive growth in applications and services ranging from on-line games and e-Education, to P2P services and e-Commerce. Today, more than 50 percent of total stock trading, 30 percent of bank transactions, and 17 percent of total commercial transactions are carried out on line.
"Today, Korea has its sights set firmly on realizing the ubiquitous society, through a well-established initiative set forth by the government, followed by bold and pioneering investments of the industry" he said. He was referring to the government's initiative, dubbed "IT 839 Strategy," which focuses on the development of three key future communication infrastructures, eight new IT services, and nine new growth engines in the ICT industry in a bid to keep Korea ahead of the curve in the ubiquitous network society.
" In complying with the government's initiative, operators are upgrading and evolving its network infrastructure toward BcN (Broadband Convergence Networks), deploying FTTH and introducing a series of new and innovative services such as IP-
TV, Home Networking, Wibro (Portable Internet), DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting), Telematics and FRID/USN applications" he said.

KT's Nespot to offer wireless roaming services with 10 nations in late 2005

Representatives of 24 telecom operators across the globe, including KT, discussed such topics as roaming services, technology-sharing and common marketing, during the Seventh Conference of the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) from May 18 through May 20 at Jeju Shilla Hotel.
Kim Woo-shik, KT executive director in charge of marketing, Terry Clotz, CEO of StartHub, Steve Mills, vice president of T-Mobile USA, were among the 70 participants of the biannual conference, organized by KT.
WBA is a telecom operator-lead industry alliance formed by five giant telecom operators ? BT Group (UK), China Netcom (China), Korea Telecom (Korea), StarHub (Singapore), Telstra (Australia) and T-Mobile (USA). KT and StarHub serve as co-chair companies of the ahead of the launch of WBA's commercial roaming services slated for the late 2005, the participants discussed ways of sharing the outcomes of research each member company has conducted so far, stage common marketing activities and utilizing WBA brand.
In particular, starting with offering its Nespot wireless Internet roaming service in Japan with NTT, KT plans to expand its roaming services to 10,780 Hot Spots in 10 countries in cooperation with six telecom companies, including BT, T-Mobile, CNC, StarHub and Telstra by the end of this year. The planned new additions will bring to about 25,000 the number of areas, including KT? Nespot Zones, where clients can gain access to wireless broadband Internet services with his or her Nespot IDs.
Kim said in his keynote speech, " The focus of the IT industry is shifting from telecom infrastructure to content providers and terminal manufacturers at a fast pace. The role of WBA is getting more important than ever to beef up cooperation among companies in an effort to proactively cope with the situation." He predicted that if the wireless Internet roaming services are expanded to cover all WBA members, subscribers will be allowed to have wireless Internet access to any place around the world.
Twenty-four WBA member companies have a combined number of some 35,000 Hot Spots in 28 countries, including 14,000 KT? Nespot Zones. As WBA member companies are on the rise, the number of wireless Internet service areas is forecast to increase.
Meanwhile, in an apparent sign of recognizing the importance of fixed-mobile convergence, seven more telecom operators across the nation have joined the Fixed-Mobile Convergence Alliance (FMCA), established last year by 10 global telecom companies, including BT and KT.
The new members are Auna Group of Spain, Belgacom of Belgium, Cesky Telecom of Czech, PCCW of Hong Kong, TRUE of Thailand, Telecom New Zealand of New Zealand and Telkim South Africa of South Africa. An additional 240 million clients are expected to benefit from the development of fixed-mobile convergence services. FMCA, launched last July, is aimed at spurring the development of fixed-mobile convergence services like KT's "One Phone Service."FMCA plans to release the requests on the terminals of fixed-mobile convergence products like KT's One Phone. KT Convergence Research Institute is now working on the requests of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi fixed-mobile convergence products. The process will likely reduce the lead time of convergence products. It will conduct a business analysis on convergence products, including market share and a projection of subscribers by the end of October.
Han Young-do, managing director of KT's One Phone Team, said Global telecom operators' paying a keen attention on fixed-wireless convergence services testifies the emergence of customer-oriented convergence industries as a new paradigm in the IT market.

KT to build up U-city infrastructure for 20 cities

KT has accelerated its presence in projects to establish Ubiquitous-city infrastructure with the aim of building up U-city in 20 cities by 2006.
KT CEO-president Lee Yong-kyung was elected as the first chairman of U-City Forum in an inaugural congress held at COEX on May 12.
U-City Forum was established to facilitate U-city projects by setting the direction of realizing a U-city, standardizing relevant technologies, and overhauling relevant and systems in cooperation with the central and local autonomous governments. About 50 institutions from private, government and research fields joined the forum. The forum is composed of three divisions 79Applied Service Division, Technology Division and Standard/Certification Division and seven working groups. KT President Lee unveiled three goals of the forum ? development of U-city models and methods, development of service and technologies necessary for realization of U-city and revamping laws and systems and establishment of a collaboration model among private, government, campus and research communities.
The Busan Metropolitan Government unveiled a blueprint on transforming Busan into a U-city with three themes ? port, traffic and convention during a signboard-hanging ceremony for establishing U-city headquarters in the port city in the afternoon on the same day.
The master plan calls for introducing RFID/USN systems to track cargo loading, customs clearance and search positions, employing advanced technologies like mobile Internet to help BEXCO attract prominent conventions and solve ever-worsening traffic problems. nw

KT President Lee Yong-kyung speaks during the 40th IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC2005 in Seoul) in Seoul.