Government to build faster Internet network

The Ministry of Information and Communication said yesterday that it will build a nationwide broadband convergence network by 2010, which will enable users to enjoy wired and wireless Internet connections 50 times faster than current speeds. The project will also allow subscribers to get high-resolution television broadcasting, broadband and fixed-line telephone connections from the same network. Starting next year, the government will invest 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion) for the project and draw 67 trillion won of investment from the private sector. A total of 69 trillion won will be spent to establish the integrated network and to develop the necessary equipment and content. “We expect that in 2010, about 95 trillion won worth of industrial production could be generated from the project,” an official from the ministry said. The services that are based on the integrated network will begin in some urban areas starting 2005. For the last six months, a government-appointed task force, made up of experts from the government, private, and academic sectors, has been preparing the blueprint of the project. Although Korea is still one of the most wired nations in the world, saturation in the broadband market has pushed telecommunications companies to seek new sources of revenue, the ministry said, which is why it plans to expand the digital convergence service market. With the establishment of the integrated network, the project’s proponents say subscribers will be able to get medical opinions in their homes and use high-resolution video telephones. The wired and wireless world would be seamless in theory. People would be able to continue their calls on landline phones in the kitchen to mobile phones in the living room. Children will be able to watch movies on their mobile phones on the road and finish watching them on their high-resolution television at home. by Kim Hyo-jin