KT President Kim Young-shub said, “Telecom service providers no longer depend on conventional business methods, and they have to lead a digital revolution by accumulating IT capabilities on par with big tech companies.”
President Kim made the remarks while delivering his keynote speech at the Mobile 360 APAC 2023 at Westin Josun in Seoul on Sept. 7. Kim made his first public appearance since taking the helm of KT and delivered KT’s vision on the communications industry.
Mobile 360 APAC brings together ICT officials in the Asian and Pacific region every year. Mobile 360 APAC 2023 was held from Sept. 7 to Sept. 8 under the theme “Leading a Digital-First Future.”
“While telecom service providers are satisfied with earning profits by offering exclusive telecom services on the network they have built, big tech companies have become owners of the digital ecosystem,” President Kim said.
He stressed the importance of telecom service providers taking control of innovation, saying that big tech companies have come up with innovative services, such as messenger, OTT, self-driving vehicles and internet finance on the infrastructure that telecom service providers have built.
President Kim said telecom service providers will have to accumulate equal IT capabilities in areas, such as AI, cloud computing, and self-driving cars, all of which are currently dominated by big tech companies, and it is imperative for telecom service providers to secure leadership in areas, such as smart city, metaverse, digital health care and energy, which are in an early stage.
Kim called for telecom service providers to play roles in the future digital society.
They will have to take a “digital service first” approach designed to explore and offer services maxing out customers’ experiences, not an “infrastructure first” approach to prepare telecom networks, he said.
President Kim demanded that telecom service providers should lead digital paradigm by preoccupying new markets, such as super intelligence robots based on 6G and other telecom technologies, quantum cryptography communication.
Following the event, President Kim had his first meeting with reporters since his inauguration.
As for KT’s direction of businesses, President Kim said he thought KT ranked first in the telecom business sector, and If IT capabilities are fully ready, KT will have no limitation in areas in which it will enter.
KT Agrees to Collaborate in AI R&D and Business with Vector Institute of Canada
KT has been stepping up its global AI ambitions by joining forces with Vector Institute, Canada’s top AI institution.
KT said on Aug. 23 the telecom service provider struck a partnership on R&D in the AI sector, one axis of KT’s digital platform company (DIGICO) business, and business collaboration with Vector Institute.
A signing ceremony took place at Vector Institute on Aug. 22 with KT Executive Vice President Kim Chae-hee in charge of strategy planning and CEO Garth Gibson of Vector Institute in attendance.
KT is Korea’s sole company with which Vector Institute has built a cooperative regime.
Vector Institute was established in 2017 with investments by Ontario, Canada and the private sector.
Prof. Geoffrey Hinton, one of the founders of deep learning and a top AI expert, who jointly established the institute, is now serving as a senior advisor.
Vector Institute has established itself as a world-class AI research institute as the institute has been collaborating with prestigious companies, such as Google and NVIDIA.
Under the deal, both sides plan to cooperate in their joint R&D, expertise manpower development and expansion of the global ecosystem in the AI sector.
Under the joint research project, they plan to apply technologies, such as voice recognition based on large-capacity AI models and vision AI to KT’s AI services.
Voice recognition technologies secured through the GiGa Genie service with a membership of 3 million Korean subscribers will be utilized to upgrade AI Contact Center and AI communication secretary.
KT and Vector plans to explore local promising startups necessary for the development of Korean services and support Korean AI tech companies’ global market entry.
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