Samsung Electronics said Tuesday "major nations" will use Korea"s homegrown WiBro mobile wireless Internet technology from next year. Samsung Electronics president Lee Ki-tae made the remark at a meeting to promote the technology that was attended by NTT DoCoMo president Masao Nakamura, Telecom Italia marketing chief Massimo Castelli and other industry heavyweights.
At the event dubbed Samsung Mobile WiMAX Summit 2006 in Seoul, Lee said WiBro has been attracting global attention since it was chosen as the next-generation telecom network for U.S. telecom provider Sprint Nextel. He said 33 telecom providers from 22 countries are considering introducing the technology, with China, Japan and Middle Eastern countries particularly keen.
The company unveiled a prototype WiBro terminal called Deluxe MITs at the event. The handbag-sized gadget functions as a cell phone, PC, MP3 player, game device and digital camera. Lee predicted it would by and by replace notebooks and change people"s lifestyle. The device will go commercial in February or March. Lee said customers will be able to access the WiBro service in most of Seoul by the end of the year and from next year investment in the project is to be expanded to take coverage nationwide. He added the market will grow explosively since Intel and Motorola are also striving to develop the technology. Market researcher Yankee Group expects the number of subscribers to reach 27.7 million by 2011.