KT and the Wireless Broadband Alliance will be holding a conference called Wi-Fi Global Congress from June 26 to 28 in Seoul.

KT, Korea’s second largest mobile carrier, said Tuesday that as the host of the international event, the company and some 80 telecom participants will seek ways to boost Wi-Fi roaming and develop new wireless technology via global partnerships.

The three-day conference will aim to further make Wi-Fi roaming accessible around the world by the first half of 2013, KT noted.

Consumers currently face difficulties in using 3G roaming since they have to locate Wi-Fi hotspots, and then log in with their IDs and passwords to get connected via their mobile handsets, instead of doing it automatically.

KT, which is a WBA board member, plans to introduce its Wi-Fi solutions during the conference, and will partner with WBA members to launch its pilot Wi-Fi roaming service, which will allow automatic connections, in the fourth quarter of this year.

WBA members currently provide Wi-Fi services to 1 billion customers in 1 million hotspots worldwide.

By Park Hyong-ki (hkp@heraldcorp.com)