ETRI, a Trendsetter
of 'IT Korea'

Takes the lead in IT technologies like WiBro and T-DMB

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), a nonprofit state-funded research organization in Korea, celebrated the 30th anniversary of its founding on December 28, 2006. ETRI is synonymous with the breathtaking rise of Korea as one of the global IT powerhouses in the world.
ETRI has achieved its accomplishments from the development of the ICT sector : the development of TDX, a time division exchange system developed in Korea in 1986 and commercialization of CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), a digital telephony system in 1996, and development of WiBro, a wireless broadband Internet technology, and T-DMB (Terrestrial-Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) in 2006. The research institution has achieved a breakthrough every decade. In particular, TDX, CDMA and WiBro are dubbed "ETRI's Top Three Creations."ETRI was merely one of Korea's several state-funded research institutes, but ETRI came into prominence in March 1986 when it succeeded in the localization of TDX. At that time, Korea was a backward telecommunication country,
depending on more inferior exchange system imports than TDX. Things changed with the development of TDX, which has resulted in solving a backlog of telephone line applications at a time. The days were gone when "white telephones"were sold at a premium and an era of "one telephone per household"ushered in, catapulting Korea to a prominent telecommunication powerhouse.
Among those who took the lead in the development of TDX were the then communications minister, Yang Seung-taik, chief of the TDX development team, and Suh Jung-wook, chief of KT's business corps. They recalled that they submitted a written statement that they would be punished if they failed and they succeeded in the development of TDX in five years.
ETRI has built up the national IT R&D regime with the development of PCM Interface Apparatus in 1981 and 8-bit educational computer in 1983, while it has established the IT infrastructure with the development of TDX-1 in 1986, 566 Mbps Multi-Service Provisioning Platform (MSPP) in 1988 and 4M DRAM in 1988.
ETRI made another milestone in 1996 10 years after the development of TDX, commercialization of CDMA, initially developed by Qualcomm of the United States, that made Korea the CDMA leader, ushering in an era of "one mobile phone per person."Even though domestic mobile telephone manufacturers have offered technology royalties to QualComm, but ETRI has received technology fees from the American company. ETRI took the initiative in the construction of informatization society with the development of 16M-DRAM, TiCom and TDX-10 in 1991. ETRI took the lead in the development of such core technologies as ATM exchange, CDMA in 1996 and IMT-2000.
Another decade later in 2006, ETRI made another feat : commercialization of WiBro, a mobile broadband service technology that can offer Internet services while on the move in a car running with a speed of 100km per hour. WiBro, developed by ETRI together with Samsung Electronics,
has helped Korea preoccupy the global mobile Internet market. ETRI succeeded in the development of terrestrial DMB, WiBro in 2004, UWB chipset and digital actor in 2005, helping Korea position as a global IT leader.
ETRI has focused on the R&D activities pursuant to the government's "u-IT839 strategy"designed to raise the per capital national income to $20,000.
Thanks to ETRI's brilliant performances, in December 2005, Korea exported our own WiBro technology to the United States, a global technology powerhouse, while radio waves for terrestrial DBM were transmitted over five oceans and six continents last year.
Digital actor, a technology used for filming 750 footages of the Korean-made movie, "The Restless"that was released on last Dec. 21, a ultra wideband technology, RFID, telematics and robotic technology and information protection technologies for creating a safe, convenient IT environment are part of the nine growth engines ETRI has been striving to develop under the government's u-IT839 Strategy.
ETRI has established itself as one of the world-class research institutes as it became the first Korean research agency to obtain the technology fee on the commercialization of CDMA from an American telecom giant. ETRI's technology fees account for 453.1 billion won or 88 percent of the combined ones from all research institutes in Daeduk Science Town. ETRI topped a list of domestic research institutes with 20,210 patents, while submitting about 1,000 SCI dissertations. About 100 ETRI researchers are responsible for international standards and 50 are put on such directories as Marquis Who's Who.
Besides, ETRI has actively collaborated with the world's prominent research institutes with the goal of becoming a global IT R&D leader. ETRI has already forged MOUs with 68 institutions in 20 countries to promote exchanges and explore new technologies through R&D collaboration.
ETRI is heading for the future by capitalizing on the foundation accumulated by 30 year-old history of research feats. ETRI is now turning its R&D focus to the development of four core technologies, including ubiquitous infrastructure for creating new services, digital intelligence, convergence parts for securing the basic technologies of parts and raw materials and mega-convergence technologies combining different industrial disciplines.
How much the technologies developed by ETRI have brought economic benefits, then's Figures provided by ETRI show that the value of economic benefits, caused by ETRI's own technologies, was estimated at 104 trillion won. Specifically, the total breaks down to 7 trillion from the TDX project, 9.6 trillion won from the development of DRAMs, 56.4 trillion won from the commercialization of CDMA, 5.4 trillion won from the development of T-DMB, 5 trillion won from the development of WiBro and 20.9 trillion won from the development of other technologies.
Behind ETRI's contribution to the rise of Korea as a global IT powerhouse is ETRI's excellent manpower. Currently, 93 percent of ETRI's research staff are doctorate and bachelor's degree holders.
Choi Sun-dal, ex-communications minister, who has successfully put a Korean satellite into orbit for the first time, KAIST chair professor Kyung Sang-hyun, former communications minister, are among the ETRI graduates. About 1,100 professors in such departments as electronics engineering and computer engineering are graduates from ETRI.
Thirteen firms, run by ETRI graduates, including Apex Inc., Handysoft, Lightron, KL Tech, Inc., and Havit Information Co. are listed on Kosdaq. About 250 venture companies have made their debut since 2000. nw

(clockwise)ETRI exhibition booth. ETRI succeeded in the commercialization of WiBro. ETRI President Dr. Choi Mun-kee