'u-IT839 Strategy'
MIC releases its 2006 business plan calling for
for commercial launch of 3 mobile services

Korea will release a low-priced household robot this year while at the same time launching advanced mobile services ― wireless internet WiBro, terrestrial digital multimedia broadcasting (T-DMB) and High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA).
Minister of Information and Communication Chin Dae-je disclosed his ministry's 2006 business plan at a meeting with reporters at the ministry on February 8, which also calls for introduction of a limited internet real-name system.
The Ministry of Information and Communication said the state-initiated "Public Robot,"to be priced at around 1 million won, will be put on the market this year.
The robot, to be controlled from outside via broadband internet and wireless LAN, one of the world's well-wired IT infrastructure, will perform jobs as security, cleaning, English education, reading and other household chores.
The public robot project corps, established last year, plans to standardize the planned public robot in order to ensure compatibility and secure modules.
The ministry said it will focus on the commercial launch, widespread use and globalization of WiBro, T-DMB and HSDPA the participatory government has prepared for the past three years. Collaboration among industry, academic circle and research communities will be reinforced to ensure the commercial launch of WiBro and determine the pricing system of the new service.
The broadcasting range of the upcoming T-DMB service will be expanded to usher in an era of "Palm (Mobile) TV"and frequency bands of 44 T-DMB stations will be readjusted to prevent frequency conflicts. In particular, MIC plans to foster DMB handsets as the biggest representative mainstay export item since the commercial launch of CDMA in Korea. The European Telecommunications Standard Institute (ETSI) approved DMB for the standard of mobile TV last year, and the ministry will do its most to have the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approve DMB as the global standard for mobile TVs this year.
MIC plans to raise DMB exports to $35 billion by 2010.
The ministry says that the number of T-DMB and satellite DMB subscribers is projected to grow to 2.1 million by the end of this year.
The ministry said its 2006 business plan also calls for the commercial launch of HSDPA, an improved mobile service with the fastest speed of 16Mbps designed to differentiate the existing CDMA service, to usher in a full-fledged mobile broadband service era.
In a bid to preempt violence in cyberspace, the ministry plans to introduce a limited internet real-name system. MIC plans to introduce an arbitration system on cyber violence and develop software designed to simplify the reporting of spam messages via mobile phones.

u-IT839 STRATEGY ― MIC's 2006 business plan calls for revising the so-called IT839 Strategy, established in February 2004, into the u-IT839 (ubiquitous-IT) Strategy"designed to promote a ubiquitous-society.
The IT839 strategy" objective is to develop eight IT services, three infrastructure networks and nine future growth engines and push the IT industry growth model by realizing a 'digital life.' "Broadband convergence service"and "IT service"have been newly added in the u-IT strategy as internet phone has been put into commercial service, and DMB and DTV (digital TV) are combined. IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6), one of the three infrastructure networks specified in the IT839, is unified into BcN (Broadband Convergence Network) and "soft infraware"is newly added, while mobile telecommunication and telematics are converged and RFID/USN is newly put on the list of nine next-generation growth engines.
Under the u-IT839 Strategy, the ministry predicts that Korea will see relevant industries grow an annual average of 14.2 percent by 2010 to post 576 trillion won in a combined production and 266 trillion won in added-value throughout the economy for the next five years.
MIC Minister Chin said, "The u-IT839 Strategy will invigorate the domestic economy by strengthening connectivity among services, infrastructure and next-generation growth engines, aggressively exploring the software sector and promoting merger and convergence between IT and other industrial sectors." nw

Minister of Information and Communication Chin Dae-je