WiBro: exploiting a genuine market opportunity

WiBro: exploiting a genuine market opportunity

South Korea, with one of the best wired broadband networks, is aiming to be a trailblazer in wireless broadband access. Wireless broadband (WiBro) will be launched commercially in Korea in Q2 2006. Although tough competition is expected from another emerging technology, HSDPA, in the competitive domestic market, WiBro does have opportunities in overseas markets, as a result of its time-to-market advantage over the 802.16e WiMAX standard. This research will trace the progress of such moves and will discuss the likely impact on other technologies.

Table of contents

Key messages

What is WiBro?

Overview of the technology
Standardisation
Different licensees’ stances

Licensing process – Hanaro returned the licence
KT: new growth engine for the future
SKT: WiBro as complementary to HSDPA
Vendor positioning

Samsung
Posdata
LG Electronics
Influence on other technologies

Wired broadband
HSDPA
Wireless LAN
Challenges and opportunities