SKT's IoT business gains steam in China

As part of its Internet of Things drive in China, SK Telecom, the nation’s largest telecommunications company, has formed a partnership with WASU Digital TV Media Group, one of China’s largest media businesses Monday, aimed at developing smart devices and conducting joint marketing activities for smart robots and video projectors, the company said in a press release.

WASU operates media platforms for mobile and traditional paid-TV services. The state-run Chinese firm has around 1.5 billion subscribers ― including 60 million for Internet Protocol TV customers.

The move was expected, as the nation’s biggest mobile carrier is trying to increase its influence in the IoT sector. IBK Securities said SKT was seeking collaborations with partners in different industries, such as construction and medicine, based on its open IoT platform.
 

SKT is thought to be working with 33 partners in a range of industries to develop around 70 smart devices, expected to be launched early next year.

The two parties will work together to promote the United Object, or UO, product lineup, including the cube-shaped pico projector UO Smart Beam, in China. The UO was launched in May in Korea in a bid to beef up its IoT businesses.

“The latest partnership with the Chinese media firm will be a key milestone for SKT in growing its business for ‘lifeware’ products in the Chinese market,” said Park Il-hwan, executive vice president of SKT’s device supporting division, at the signing event of the memorandum of understanding on Monday.

SKT said “lifeware” referred to a combination of life, software and hardware, but did not give further details.

Separately from the partnership, SKT said the company had already been seeing progress in its project to provide medical services converging health care and ICT in China.

Healthconnect, a joint venture established by SKT and Seoul National University Hospital, has started trial services of monitoring solutions for diabetes at VISTA Medical Center, the largest private medical institute in Beijing.

The monitoring solutions allow doctors to remotely monitor patients’ blood sugar levels and recommend diet and exercise programs in accordance with health conditions.

The number of people in China with diabetes stood at 114 million, the highest in the world, in 2013, according global diabetes organization International Diabetes Federation. The figure is expected to soar to 140 million by 2018.

“The number of patients suffering from chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure is rapidly rising,” said Yan Yifeng, chairman of Vista Medical Center, pledging that it would provide patients with up-to-date medical services combined with ICT developed by SKT and Seoul National University Hospital.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)