KT set sights on global mobile leadership

Korean telecom operator KT is accelerating its efforts to become a dominant global player by rolling out advanced network technologies and seeking partnerships with overseas firms, its chief executive said Tuesday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

“Becoming the global No.1 is not a far-fetched dream, but a goal that we must achieve in the future,” KT CEO Hwang Chang-gyu said in a press meeting at the trade fair, adding that the Korean firm also aims to introduce its vision of “GiGAtopia” to consumers in other nations.

The term is a combination of the words gigabit and utopia and refers to a connected world with gigabit networks. 

He said as more global consumers gain access to faster information and communications technology services, like those currently found in Korea, they will support KT’s goal of achieving omnipresent fast networks in daily life.

Since taking the helm of the telecom firm in 2014, Hwang has focused on increasing business efficiency and diversifying the firm’s business portfolio. The CEO, who led semiconductor business at Samsung from 2004 to 2008, has also emphasized the importance of making forays into global markets to overcome challenges stemming from the saturated domestic telecom market.

KT has signed partnership deals with global telecom firms and governments during the congress in Barcelona, including those with Turk Telkom of Turkey, the Catalonia government in Spain, and the Bangladesh government.

The Korean firm will deploy the Giga Wire technology in Catalonia. The technology can improve the connectivity speeds of copper-based Internet connections, raising it to up to 600 megabits per second.

KT said that since Giga Wire technology does not require the replacement of existing copper wires, it can protect the historical sites of the region.

The company will also install its gigabit networks in Maheshkhali Island, Bangladesh, and expand gigabit services into the inland area in the future.

KT, which earned 750 billion won ($609 million) in revenue in global markets, aims to increase its sales to 2 trillion won by 2020.

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