- KT Corp., First to Announce Unlimited Data Plans for 5G, No
Speed Cap
- Korean Telecom Leader Provides Most Nationwide 5G Service
Coverage
- KT Offers 8 'Super Power' 5G Services Across Key Content
Categories
SEOUL, South Korea,
April 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- KT
Corporation (KRX: 030200; NYSE: KT), South Korea's largest telecommunications
company, has officially launched the world's first nationwide
commercial fifth-generation (5G) wireless network in South Korea, ushering in a new era of
super-fast and ultra-reliable connectivity for consumers and
businesses.
KT unveiled the first business-to-consumer (B2C) subscriber for
its nationwide next-generation wireless network on April 3. The first customer uses Samsung
Electronics Co.'s Galaxy S10 5G, the world's first available
smartphone with built-in 5G. KT launched business-to-business (B2B)
network service in December 2018.
The Korean telecom leader has been pioneering 5G innovations
since its Chairman Hwang Chang-Gyu
first envisioned the world's first and best commercial 5G network
at the MWC 2017. KT is also the first to offer unlimited data plans
for its 5G network services, allowing people to get the best of
5G's super-fast and ultra-low latency connectivity.
"KT has been the top global leader in 5G commercialization, not
to mention it successfully showcased the world's trial 5G services
at the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games in February last year,"
Chairman Hwang said in a note to employers. "We will become the
number one operator of the next-generation intelligent platform,
delivering the first and best 5G network services throughout
South Korea."
As South Korea's No. 1 5G
network operator, KT is leading the global race for 5G
commercialization, outpacing rivals from China, Japan
and Vietnam to Switzerland the UAE and the U.S. 5G
connections will reach 1 billion worldwide in mid-2023 and 2.7
billion by 2025, taking less time than 4G to reach this milestone,
according to a latest report by CCS Insight.
The next-generation 5G technology is up to 20 times faster than
the current LTE or 4G networks, and offer extremely low latency and
more devices to be connected at once. The South Korean government
pledged this week to support the completion of the fully-nationwide
5G network by 2022 and raise more than 30
trillion won to invest in the world's best 5G ecosystem.
KT, First to Offer Unlimited Data Plans for 5G, No Speed
Cap
Korea's leading 5G service provider is the first to offer
unlimited data plans without a speed cap, allowing subscribes to
fully enjoy next-generation wireless services, including virtual
reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), high-definition movies and
cloud-based games.
KT's 5G Super Plans come in three packages: Basic (80,000 won per month), Special (100,000 won per month) and Premium (130,000 won per month), each offering unlimited
roaming services in 185 countries. Customers can receive a 25
percent discount to join any of these Super Plans on a 2-year
contract and an extra 25 percent off by signing up with a family
member.
Light data users can subscribe to 5G slim, which caps speed at
1Mbps after 8GB of data for 55,000
won per month.
Allowing subscribers access to unlimited 5G data at an
affordable price is essential in today's new era of super-fast
speed and ultra-low latency connectivity. KT's 5G pricing scheme
for the first unlimited data plans will help lay the groundwork of
the 5G industrial ecosystem in South
Korea and the rest of the world.
Korean Telecom Leader Provides Most Nationwide 5G Service
Coverage
KT deployed the first phase of its commercial 5G network across
South Korea in November 2018. The nationwide service primarily
covers the country's most populated areas, including the capital
Seoul and its surrounding
metropolitan area, six other metropolitan cities, most of all 85
major cities, 70 large shopping malls and discount stores and 464
college campuses.
Korea's mobile leader, formerly known as Korea Telecom, has also
exclusively built its commercial 5G network to cover the country's
key transportation routes, including two major highways, six
airports, and the ground section of high-speed railways. The
company plans to expand the coverage to subways and key sites such
as public offices and university hospitals.
KT is the first local carrier providing updated 5G coverage
information to the public. The company is offering a visualized map
(https://coverage.kt.com) at its corporate website documenting its
5G-serviced areas across the country, updated regularly by cities
and districts.
To better support 5G's ultra-low latency, KT also operates
mobile edge computing (MEC) telecom centers in eight major cities,
including one on Jeju Island, the country's southernmost territory.
Using the largest number of MEC centers, the company can process
data from handsets closest by to enable more reliable and seamless
transmission.
Low latency is vital for 5G users to enjoy immersive media such
as cloud-based streaming games and AR/VR as well as other key
services such as autonomous driving.
KT to Offer Eight 'Super Power' 5G Services Across Key
Content Categories
Korean consumers are known as early adopters of technology. KT
subscribers, with 5G smartphones, will be the first to experience
the best of the next-generation wireless network.
Upon full-scale 5G commercialization, KT plans to focus on eight
"super power" services in the three categories of killer content,
namely communications, games and media. All eight services include:
narle, Real 360, eSports Live, Streaming Games, Real Genie Pack,
GiGA Live TV, Pro Baseball Live and Musician Live.
narle is a video call app using 3-D and AR technologies
for up to eight people at once. Real 360 is an app that allows a
one-person broadcaster and as many as four users to communicate in
360° ultra-high-definition (UHD) live-streaming. eSports Live
is the world's first and only dedicated app that allows each user
to watch a set of five screens simultaneously for StarCraft,
Battlegrounds and other video games.
KT's 5G customers can also enjoy streaming mobile games such as
LuV Revolution and RAGNAROK Click H5. For music fans, KT is the
world's first carrier to offer hi-res quality streaming using FLAC
24-bit with Real Genie Pack.
GiGA Live TV, which comes with an exclusive VR headset and
content, has also been upgraded with a new app for 5G services
including Special Force VR, the first online game played between
smartphone users and VR devices. KT also debuted Pro Baseball Live
and Music Live to allow 5G mobile users to watch matches and listen
to live music from any desired view point.
"KT wants everyone to fully enjoy the new world of 5G without
worry," said Lee Pil-Jae, head of
KT"s Marketing Group. "We will continue our efforts to lead 5G
innovations with the world's best network and services in
partnership with our global partners."
KT also plans to create the world's first 5G theme park in
partnership with Seoul Land, one of South
Korea's first amusement parks, on the outskirts of the
capital city. The company already VRIGHT.
KT's '5G First' Network Strategy Focuses on Latency and
Speed
KT unveiled its "5G First" strategy to focus on providing the
best network, with an emphasis on latency. By preferring the 5G
network, this new strategy makes the best of 5G's ultra-low latency
and helps conserve smartphone batteries about 25 percent.
Applying 5G First, KT and Samsung Electronics successfully
achieved 1Gbps speed with the Galaxy S10 5G smartphone on KT's
commercial 5G network, using 3.5 GHz frequency in downtown
Seoul on March 26. This milestone is a part of a long
partnership between KT and dedicated to 5G. KT and Samsung together
introduced the world's first trial 5G services in February 2018, showcased at the PyeongChang
Winter Olympics.
KT is also working with Ericsson to enable the national launch
of commercial 5G services in South
Korea. Ericsson is providing 3GPP standards-based 5G new
Radio (NR) hardware and software from its complete 5G platform to
cover KT's 3.5 GHz Non-Standalone (NAA) network.
MEDIA CONTACTS
For inquiries, please contact our Foreign Media Relations Team
at kt.fmrt@gmail.com
ABOUT KT CORP. (KRX: 030200; NYSE: KT)
KT Corporation, Korea's largest telecommunications service
provider reestablished in 1981 under the Telecommunications
Business Act, is leading the era of innovations in the world's most
connected country. The company leads the 4th industrial
revolution with high speed wire/wireless network and innovative ICT
technology. After installing 20 million fixed lines in just 12
years, KT was the first telecom provider to introduce trial and
commercial 5G trial networks in February
2018 and April 2019,
respectively. It is another step in KT's continuous efforts to
deliver essential products and services as it seeks to be the No.1
ICT Company and People's Company.
For more information, please visit our English website at
https://corp.kt.com/eng/
Photo -
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