Intel Investing $20 Million in Wireless Broadband Joint Venture with Samsung, Korea Telecom

Intel is investing $20 million in WIBRO Infra Co., Ltd. (WIC), a joint venture with Korea Telecom (KT), Samsung and KBIC. The Intel Capital (News - Alert) investment will help WIC accelerate KT’s wireless broadband infrastructure build-out.

KT will expand the WIBRO service to five new cities -- Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, Daejeon and Ulsan -- and the expressways of Gyeongbu, Jungbu, Honam and Yeongdong.

When the new service begins on Oct. 1, subscribers will be able to use KT’s “Mobile Wonderland” supported by its “3W” network consisting of 3G mobile communication (WCDMA), wireless LAN (WiFi (News - Alert)) and high-speed wireless Internet (WIBRO).

KT is also migrating its WIBRO network onto the standard of 10MHz WiMAX channel width that will allow interoperability and roaming with WiMAX networks worldwide. Coupled with better radio planning, this migration is expected to improve the quality of service by up to two times.

By March 2011, KT (News - Alert) is expected to be the first carrier in the world to provide nationwide WiMAX coverage with its WIBRO service covering 82 cities in Korea, serving 85 percent of the Korean population.

KT and Intel also have worked with major PC manufacturers to launch the first Intel Core and Intel Atom processor-based laptops and netbooks in Korea featuring Intel embedded WiMAX solutions, based on the Intel Centrino Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250 network adapter.

Starting Oct. 1, Korean customers will be able to purchase a selection of Intel-based laptops and netbooks from Samsung (News - Alert), LG and Acer. These WiMAX-ready mobile devices allow high-speed wireless Internet access without the need for plug-in USB modems or wireless pocket routers. The devices will enable users to have wireless Internet connectivity in countries and cities that have also deployed compatible WiMAX networks.

“Intel is committed to leading the advancement of wireless broadband adoptions throughout the world as more devices compute and connect to the Internet,” said Arvind Sodhani (News - Alert), president of Intel Capital and Intel executive vice president. “Intel Capital’s investment strengthens our WiMAX efforts in Asia Pacific region, arguably the fastest growing wireless broadband area, and specifically helps KT expand their offerings in Korea.”

“We will cooperate with Intel in every way to promote the wireless Internet,” said Suk-chae Lee, CEO of KT. “Just like a seamless transportation network requiring expressways, railroads and aviation, KT will develop a 3W network with WIBRO, Wi-Fi and WCDMA technologies complementing each other to make Korea the world’s best mobile wonderland.”

“As a mobile Internet user myself, I am glad that the WIBRO service is now available in five more major cities and expressways,” added Tae-Keun Hyung, a member of a standing committee, Korea Communications Commission. “With WIBRO, I expect Korea to be a leading mobile Internet country in the world.”

To find out more, visit the 4GWE Conference. To be held Oct. 4 to 6 in Los Angeles and collocated with ITEXPO West 2010, the 4GWE Conference will focus on the realities of deploying 4G technologies and delivering broadband wireless applications to a growing community of wireless broadband consumers. Don’t wait. Register now.