KT, a leading mobile carrier in South Korea, is looking to shake up the local and global information and communications technology sector by introducing exclusive services and products developed on the back of its cutting-edge technologies.

KT’s chief executive Hwang Chang-gyu has been pushing the company to pursue customer-centered innovation, introducing a total of 18 original technologies and services developed for the first time in the world since taking his post in January 2014.

“The key to rising above our competition is to cast a fresh look into our customers’ needs and their changing lifestyles based on Internet technology, which is creating opportunities to draw up new business models and approaches,” Hwang said.

In June, KT unveiled the world’s fastest mobile data service, known as “GiGA LTE.” By combining its existing Long Term Evolution, or LTE, networks with localized Wi-Fi connections, the service provides users with data speeds up to 1.17 Gigabits per second.

As a “high-end technology that is about three years ahead of its time,” GiGA LTE is 15 times faster than existing LTE networks and four times faster than the tri-band LTE-Advanced, the quickest wireless network previously available in the Korean market, according to KT.

The firm has also been a leader in introducing fresh business paradigms in line with shifting consumer needs. It was the first in Korea to launch a data-oriented monthly payment plan that allows users to select a set amount of allotted data while providing unlimited free calling and texting.

Targeting those seeking heightened protection on the web, KT has developed the Wiz Stick, the world’s first portable network-based security dongle able to block unauthorized access to a user’s PC.

Topped with the mobile carrier’s ICT expertise, the Wiz Stick is set to become a game changer in the international information security sector when it becomes commercialized at the end of this year, according to KT.

KT is also the first mobile carrier to service corporate customers with the “Private LTE” intranet system, which boasts high-quality network protection with an information encryption program.

Setting it apart from similar programs, KT’s system offers corporate and personal modes, enabling the users to easily switch between the company’s intranet and open Internet networks. Hyundai Heavy Industries currently uses the system while POSCO is in the implementation process, KT said.

In May 2012, the company launched KT-MEG, the world’s first comprehensive energy management solutions system combining big data with ICT-based monitoring technology to cut down a facility’s energy usage by more than 50 percent.

Converging machinery-replacing energy management methods with ICT, KT-MEG is able to predict energy demand in advance with accumulated big data and calculate the most cost-effective way to operate a customer’s energy system.

Other exclusive convergence technologies introduced to the world for the first time by KT include eMBMS, able to speedily send high-definition video to multiple users concentrated in one place, the GiGA Wire, which can triple the speed of wire-based Internet without replacing existing copper cables, and Satellite LTE.

Meanwhile, the KT CEO has vowed to accelerate its efforts to usher in the 5G era, as the firm seeks to lead what it calls “the next industrial revolution” on the back of the advancement and convergence of ICT over the next few decades.

Hwang has vowed to continue leading the way in establishing faster LTE networks to reach a speed of 2 Gbps by 2016, 4 Gbps by 2017 and 20 Gbps by 2020. The telecom firm plans to unveil its 5G technology during the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.

The Korean mobile carrier also plans to inject 13 trillion won ($11.4 billion) by 2020 into a range of new, futuristic technologies including its portable security dongle, smart energy solutions, an open Internet of Things platform, self-driving car systems, an IPTV set-top box and bioinformatics technology.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)