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[EDITORIALS]A hand-held economic plan

Published: 09 Aug. 2006, 22:32

WiBro (Wireless Broadband), a next-generation mobile communications technology developed in Korea, is now making its way into the United States, the home of telecommunications technology.
Samsung Electronics agreed to begin WiBro commercial services across the United States on a nationwide basis with the service provider Sprint Nextel, starting in 2008. WiBro is a wireless high-speed Internet technology that enables the transmission of data anytime, anywhere, even within vehicles moving faster than 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour or on top of mountains. The connection speed is even faster than a fixed-line Internet connection.
If the CDMA technology we use today is considered “third-generation” technology, then WiBro would be “fourth generation.”
The Korean information telecommunications industry has gone from making cell phone handsets to something entirely different ― providing core technology. Korean firms paid royalties amounting to 1 trillion won (about $1 billion) to the U.S. firm Qualcomm, which held the source technology for CDMA. If WiBro spreads across the world, Korea’s dream of receiving royalties from other countries may come true.
This is the first time Korea’s telecom technology has been selected by a key U.S. network business. The United States has a very strong sense of industry protection ― even Japanese companies have been unable to get into the market. Samsung Electronics is currently negotiating with nine telecommunications companies to commercialize WiBro in countries such as Japan, Italy and Brazil.
According to the agreement with Sprint, Samsung will provide base stations, handsets, and chipsets. About 100 small and medium-sized businesses will participate in the business as well. Samsung estimates that the deal will produce 33 trillion won and create 270,000 new jobs.
This is good news for the economy, which has shown little growth and no job creation.
The jobs that WiBro will create cannot be compared, in quality and quantity, to the petty jobs the government provided with its budget. This seems to confirm that the economy is something companies must be allowed to control instead of the government.
Now that we have found something to spur the economy, the government and companies should work together to further develop WiBro technology. The government’s best plan for the economy is to let companies have the elbow space to show off their abilities. That is the solution to unemployment.