BUSAN – From a smart air quality monitoring device to a solution that allows a gigabit internet speed with traditional telephone wires, telecommunications giant KT has showcased its solutions and products running on its high-speed network infrastructure at the ITU Telecom World, a UN-backed annual ICT conference held through Thursday in Busan.

The Korean telecom firm has been participating in the annual ICT conference every year since 2015, and this year’s event is especially important for the firm. It is set to run a pilot service for the next-generation 5G network for the first time in the world during the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in 2018 and to launch the world’s first 5G services in 2019.

The ongoing ICT event serves as a venue where global telecom firms, network equipment makers and governments play tug of war to adopt their own technologies for the looming 5G services.

During the four-day ICT conference, KT has been introducing its master plan for the 5G launch and the details of the related technologies available at KT to government officials and its potential partners.

“As a leading telecom firm in Korea, KT will continue to keep bringing new 5G technologies to the global market to lead the segment,” said Yoon Jong-jin, the chief of KT’s public relations unit.

During the Busan ICT event, the telecom company has worked together with global ICT ministers, government officials, and ICT experts for the standardization of the 5G technologies—a process considered highly necessary before the commercialization of the next-gen network.

Some of the solutions and products KT exhibited at the event include GiGA Wire, which enables traditional telephone lines to work like gigabit Internet cables, artificial intelligence-powered energy management solution KT-MEG, GiGA IoT Smart Air, which monitors and analyzes the air quality, and voice-controlled set-top box GiGA Ginie.

A virtual reality racing simulator which offers an immersive driving experience also received attention from visitors at the firm’s pavilion—the largest among approximately 250 companies participating in the conference.

“KT has been in talks with multiple nations, such as Malaysia, to export GiGA Wire, which can save lots of cost in improving the outdated network infrastructure,” a KT official said.

KT’s partners, including VR content developer Modern House, iris recognition USB maker Irisys, and smart signage solution firm Insung, showcased their products at the telecom firm’s exhibition booth. 

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