LG Telecom Launches Open Internet for Mobiles

LG Telecom mad a new challenge to local mobile internet environment by launching an open, full-browsing internet service at a low price. They Launched the Oz service on Thursday, with an attractive fixed-rate plan that allows unlimited data download for 6000 won per month (It is $6 per month). The CEO of LG telecom, Jung ll- Jae said that before Oz, phone users had to visit firms’ portal sites to gain access to the mobile Internet and they had to pay for information which was free for PCs. Now they will develop an open Internet world for mobile phones where everyone can enjoy the Internet. Mobile Internet services in Korea are provided in a closed portal from each telecom companies. Mostly, they are slow, hard to customize. Also, users, internet companies and foreign phone makers were frustrated by this too. Portals are notorious for charging users for services and data subscription fees were much higher than broadband Internet fees for PCs. The CEO had decided that it is time to open up the mobile Internet environment for users to freely go to the websites just like using PCs. LG telecom first introduced two premium handsets from LG Electronics and Japan’s Casio for the launch of the Oz service. However, the CEO’s mind is to sell more than ten models in 2008. Just the reminder, the overall users for each top three Telecom firms in South Korea is 22.4 million for SK Telecom, 13.9 million for KTF and 7.9 million for LG telecom. SK Telecom and KTF have been investing to establish the third-generation (3G) platform(WCDMA), which allows face to face video call services. LG telecom has gone a separate way and improved its existing 2G network with much less investment. They focused on implementing the full screen PC internet interface onto the small phone screen.

http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2008/04/123_21896.html

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