While US wireless operators finally begin to rollout 3G mobile services, South Korean operator, SK Telecom has launched the world's first commercial 3.5G service. Using the so-called High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) technology, the service extends the current 3G standard, WCDMA, in a similar way that EV-DO extends cdma2000 (the technology that most US operators have deployed).
While that may sound like gobbledygook to most, what it means to service providers and mobile users is extra bandwidth, reportedly up to 14 Mbps downstream. This will allow operators to provide users with bandwidth-intensive applications and services such as mobile TV, high quality mobile audio and video as well as services to suit the mobile workforce.
A recent report from the Federation of Korean Information Industries suggests that the country's wireless data service market will grow by more than 14% in 2006 to a total of nearly $4 billion (3.8 trillion won), up from approximately $3.5 billion (3.4 trillion won) in 2005. Of that total, the HSDPA market is expected to account for roughly $2.6 billion, with Korea's version of WiMAX (called WiBro) expected to account for about $1.25 billion.
South Korea has approximately 38 million mobile phone subscribers, according to International Data Corporation (IDC), making it the fourth largest mobile phone market in the Asia-Pacific region behind China, India and Japan.
One significant reason why South Koreans are such voracious users of wireless data and Internet services is that mobile handsets make it so easy to access the Internet. Data from the National Internet Development Agency of Korea (NIDA), show that over 71% of all mobile phone subscribers in the country have a phone with a 'hot-key' feature. This feature offers constant access to wireless Internet when pushed.
The two key barriers to successful mobile Internet services around the globe have been providing enough bandwidth to the user, and creating a service that is easy to use. The South Korean mobile Internet market is a model in overcoming these key barriers.