After rolling out WiBro technology last June in Seoul, Korea Telecom says it will launch a fully commercial service this April, expanding the technology from a few hotspots around the city to a more widespread deployment that will eventually included coverage of about 20 urban areas across South Korea.
Reports suggest that the operator has attracted fewer than 1,000 customers since its commercial launch last June. SK Telecom launched WiBro in select areas too last summer, and is said to have even fewer customers. No word on when SK Telecom will roll out the technology to more areas. WiBro is South Korea's home-grown mobile WiMAX-compatible technology (802.16e).
The results thus far suggest that WiBro isn't doing to well in a market that has HSDPA services from SK Telecom, EV-DO Rev. A services from LGT and EV-DO services from several operators. Samsung is throwing in more WiBro devices, including a new smartphone and an ultra mobile PC.
To read more about Korea Telecom's second launch of WiBro:
- check out this article from Red Herring