A view of the “G-500” event, titled “Time for PyeongChang 2018,” in which KT demonstrated 5G services, which will be realized for the first time in the world during the Winter Olympic Games. (Photo: KT)

With 500 days remaining before the 2018 Olympic Winter Games kick off, KT demonstrated the world’s first 5G service, which will be realized for the first time in the world during the Winter Olympic Games.

Spectators at the “G-500” event, titled “Time for PyeongChang 2018,” got a glimpse into the 5G services that KT will show off during the Winter Olympics. The event took place at Yeouido Han River Public Park on Sept. 27. They experienced such things as large-capacity multi-media services and e-conferences aboard the “5G Bus,” armed with transparent displays. 

The PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games sponsored the event, which also included multimedia fireworks, K-pop performances and the opening of publicity pavilions. 

On top of the 5G Bus, KT demonstrated such services as “Ski Jump 360 VR,” which was seen during the Olympic Football Tournament at Rio 2016 held in August. 

Kim Hyung-joon, head of KT’s PyeongChang 2018 team, said, “KT will join forces with its all subsidiaries to successfully operate communications networks and showcase 5G services during the PyeongCahng 2018.”

KT Chairman Hwang, key-note speaker at MWC 2017

KT Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu will deliver a keynote speech at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017, slated for late February in Barcelona, Spain. He will appear at the MWC 2017 two years after delivering a keynote speech at the MWC in February 2015. 

The evene is one of the world’s biggest communications device and technology fairs. The GSM Association (GSMA), headquartered in London, announced the list of speakers for the MWC 2017 on Oct. 11. 

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting nearly 800 operators with almost 300 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organizations in adjacent industry sectors. Among the speakers of the MWC 2017 are KT Chairman Hwang, CEO John Stankey of AT&T Entertainment Group, and Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri.

KT Chairman Hwang has accepted the GSMA’s request, but the content and direction of the speech has not yet been decided, a KT official said. Chairman Hwang is expected to touch on the topic on 5G technology, given the fact that KT will demonstrate 5G communications services during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games. The GSMA said the key themes of the WMC 2017 will involve such things as next-generation networks, security issues and IoT.

Utilizing Big Data and IoT, KT Creates New Smart System Project

KT hosted the Smart City Innovation Summit Asia from Sept. 20 to Sept. 22, at KINTEX in Goyang, north of Seoul, which displayed exhibits showing new “smart city” models, which focus on using IoT and Big Data technologies.

At this event, in addition to Smart City model projects, KT showed off location-based O2O marketing strategies, GiGA geo-fencing, and various Internet of Small Things (IoST) technologies. 

One of the new things they developed was a Big Data Tourism Solution, which enables analyzing people passing through local festivals and events. Another platform KT demonstrated in the new Safe Mate platform has been designed to help alleviate city safety problems. KT’s Smart City platform was shown off at the convention. It improves safety, convenience, and comfort by providing fine dust and air quality monitors, natural disaster safety information, and GiGA IoT health. KT's flagship IoT project is IoT Makers, which can be used for managing publicly-shared bicycles.

Another of KT's Smart City projects currently in the planning and development stage, is for managing (in person) service counters and it allows those who consult it to immediately find a response to their queries. 

This project was mainly developed with municipal governments and various businesses in mind. Kim Jun-geun, KT GiGA IoT's business leader, said, "We are continuously developing new products for our Smart City category, which use location-based information and 'small internet of things' in the technology implementations.