South Korea: KT to Invest 1.5bn Dollars in IPTV

Text of report in English by South Korean newspaper Chungang Ilbo website on 18 September

KT, the leading landline phone and broadband operator, unveiled its business plan for Internet protocol TV, saying that it would invest 1.7 trillion won (1.47bn dollars) by the end of 2012 and reach break even in 2011.

Yoon Jong-lok, senior executive vice president of KT’s Growing Business Group, made the announcement during a press conference yesterday at the Seoul Press Centre in Taepyeongno, central Seoul.

“About 40 per cent of the nation’s exports come from the IT sector, but the current IT market is saturated.

Convergence between TV and Internet would open a new era of Internet economy 2.0,” said Yoon.

KT also announced yesterday that its Mega TV IPTV service has begun a trial service by offering real-time TV programmes from major broadcasters.

KT and other IPTV operators including Hanarotelecom previously provide a pre-IPTV service of just video-on-demand.

Originally published by Chungang Ilbo, Seoul, in English 18 Sep 08.

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