Samsung's Mobile WiMax
Enters Japanese Market

Unveils the latest 'WiBro Communicator'handset

Samsung Electronics'bid to deploy its mobile WiMax (also known as WiBro) technology has gained momentum as the Korean electronics giant has been chosen as the supplier of mobile WiMax equipment for UQ Communications in Japan.
UQ Communications was awarded the rights from Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in December 2007 to offer mobile WiMax services. UQ Communications is a consortium of six companies including KDDI and Kyocera.
Samsung Electronics signed an agreement to provide WiBro equipment to U.S. telecommunications service provider Sprint-Nextel in August 2006. In the latest development, Samsung Electronics was also selected by Sprint-Nextel to build up a network for providing WiBro service in New York, outbidding its rivals Nokia of Finland and Motorola of the United States.
Samsung Electronics'latest deployment of WiBro will enable the Korean electronics giant to establish the so-called "WiBro belt"covering six metropolitan areas of the eastern United States:
Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Providence.
WiBro was developed under a state-initiated project, part of the Ministry of Information and Communication's so-called IT 839 Strategy, which covers the development of the technology and standardization for overseas market exploration in the planning stage and spectrum use. With the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) taking the initiative, Samsung Electronics, KT and SK Telecom collaborated in the development of the technology.
The project for the development of WiBro began in 2002. Korea succeeded in producing a mock-up of the technology in 2004 before demonstrating the technology in 2005. KT and SK Telecom launched the first-ever commercial services in June 2006. Currently, about 70,000 subscribers have already signed up for the WiBro service.
Globally, about 40 countries, including the United States, Japan, the UK and Taiwan are seeking to introduce WiBro services.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics said it will release the latest "WiBro (Wireless Broadband Internet) Communicator"that not only allows Internet surfing on the move, but also offers such diverse services as navigation, PMP and terrestrial DMB (digital multimedia broadcasting).
The SWT-W100K is the advanced all-in-one WiBro handset with which users can enjoy Internet surfing at a speed of 13Mbps. The WiBro Communicator adopts a high-definition 4.3-inch WVGA TFT-LCD so that users can enjoy high-definition video. nw

Samsung Electronics'mobile WiMax handset, SWT-W100K.