KT to kill 2G service and embrace 4G

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KT to kill 2G service and embrace 4G

KT secured regulatory approval yesterday to switch off its second-generation (2G) wireless service next month, allowing the telecom giant to finally join the fourth-generation (4G) race that is heating up between its rivals.

After rejecting KT’s two previous bids, the Korea Communications Commission voted to approve the carrier’s plan to end its 2G mobile service in the 1.8 gigahertz bandwidth, an official said.

The regulator gave KT two weeks to notify the company’s remaining 2G mobile phone customers of the decision before the company halts the service on Dec. 8.

The approval enables the country’s second-biggest mobile operator to begin long-term evolution service on the band, about six months after its rivals began offering their own high-speed 4G wireless technology.

KT plans to invest 1.3 trillion won ($1.13 billion) through 2012 to prepare for the next-generation wireless service, it said in a statement released following the regulator’s decision.

The stakes were high for KT to win permission to halt service for its 2G handset users.


Yonhap
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