Korea Communication ReviewJuly 2014KT Chairman envisions GiGAtopiaChairman Chang-gyu Hwang of KT, at a press conference held at KT Olleh Square in Gwanghwamun, Seoul on May 20, announced that "KT will open up a new age of GiGAtopia by investing KRW 4.5 trillion (USD 4.4 billion) in GiGA FTTH, GiGA Path (heterogeneous networks convergence technology that combines LTE and Wi-Fi networks), and GiGA Wire (copper wire-based transmission technology) for the next three years." Through this investment,
Korean ICT News • page 1LTE/LTE-A Commercialization by South Korea’s Big 3 Operators as of July 1, 2014 • page 2-4Broadband Access Network Architecture in Korea • page 5-6Featured Article:What's GiGAtopia envisioned by Chairman Chang-gyu Hwang of KT? • page 7-11Netmanias Vendor Interview: HFR’s optical fronthaul solution • page 12-14LTE subscribers in Korea UPDATE • page 15-16Broadband subscribers in Korea UPDATE • page 17-18IPTV subscribers in Korea UPDATE • page 19Research and Consulting Scope of Netmanias • page 20
© Netmanias Consulting • www.netmanias.com for the next three years." Through this investment, the company first plans to provide Giga-class wired Internet services such as GiGA Wire (300 Mbps) and GiGA FTTH (1 Gbps), which are three times and ten times faster than the current 100Mbps, respectively. The company also plans on accelerating the wireless Internet access three folds by employing heterogeneous networks convergence technologies (e.g. IFOM) that combine LTE and Wi-Fi networks. With these new Giga-infrastructures, Chairman Hwang estimates that the company will aim to commercialize UHD TV services (15~20 Mbps) by the end of the year, and employ its video streaming technology, 'Olleh Power Live (eMBMS)', to cover more key service areas in Seoul by the end of June, allowing users to watch various contents in HD resolution (max. 4 Mbps), 10 times better than the current DMB TV. See page 7-11, What's GiGAtopia envisioned by Chairman Chang-gyu Hwang of KT? nKorea’s big 3 operators launched the world’s first 225 Mbps wideband LTE-A service in June
In June 2014, Korea’s big three mobile operators, SK Telecom, LG U+ and KT, launched commercial wideband LTE-A services, supporting a maximum speed of 225 Mbps with 30 MHz using 2-band carrier aggregation that combines 20 MHz in the wideband LTE bands and 10 MHz in the existing bands. On June 19, 2014, SK Telecom began the service for the first time in the world, soon followed by LG U+ and KT who also launched the same service at the end of the Month. Specifically, the operators offer the wideband LTE-A services combining 20 MHz and 10 MHz in the following bands: - SK Telecom: 1.8 GHz (Band 3) and 850 MHz (Band 5) - LG U+: 2.6 GHz (Band 7) and 850 MHz (Band 5) - KT: 1.8 GHz (Band 3) and 900 MHz (Band 8) At 225 Mbps, we can download a 1 GB movie in just 35 seconds. The same task will take 53 seconds with wideband LTE (150 Mbps) and 1 minute and 46 seconds with LTE (75 Mbps).
KT chairman envisions GiGAtopiaDownload speed measured on Samsung ‘Galaxy S5 Broadband LTE-A’ phone in SK Telecom’s wideband LTE-A network
See page 2-4, LTE/LTE-A Commercialization by South Korea’s Big 3 Operators as of July 1, 2014. n
Korea Communication Review
Publisher: Dr. Harrison J. Son | son@netmanias.com Associate Editor: Dr. Michelle M. Do | misun.do@netmanias.com Advertising Sales: Ho-Young Lee | hylee@netmanias.com | +82-2-3444-5747 Business Development: Steve Shin | cm.s.shin@netmanias.com | +82-10-2884-8870 IN THIS ISSUE
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Korea Communication Review • July 2014 LTE/LTE-A Commercialization by South Korea’s Big 3 Operators as of July 1, 2014 | By Dr. Michelle M. Do
lIn June 2014, Korea’s big three mobile operators, SK Telecom, LG U+ and KT, launched commercial wideband LTE-A services, supporting a maximum speed of 225 Mbps with 30 MHz using 2-band carrier aggregation (CA) that combines 20 MHz in the wideband LTE bands and 10 MHz in the existing bands. On June 19, 2014, SK Telecom began the service for the first time in the world, soon followed by LG U+ and KT who also launched the same service at the end of the month. Specifically, the operators offer the wideband LTE-A services combining 20 MHz and 10 MHz in the following bands: - SK Telecom: 1.8 GHz (Band 3) and 850 MHz (Band 5) - LG U+: 2.6 GHz (Band 7) and 850 MHz (Band 5) - KT: 1.8 GHz (Band 3) and 900 MHz (Band 8) Korea launched LTE service back in July 2011. Soon, it also commercialized LTE-A service and wideband LTE-A service – in June 2013 and in June 2014 respectively – for the first time in the world. The speed of LTE network has accelerated three times faster from max. 75 Mbps in July 2011 to max. 225 Mbps in June 2014 in just 3 years. In Korea, LTE technology is advancing fast – faster than any other country in the world. At 225 Mbps, we can download a 1 GB movie in just 35 seconds. The same task will take 53 seconds with wideband LTE (150 Mbps) and 1 minute and 46 seconds with LTE (75 Mbps). Samsung released a new version of its Galaxy S5 smartphone, Galaxy S5 Broadband LTE-A, the world’s first commercially available LTE-A category 6 smartphone for the wideband LTE-A service. It supports a Quad HD (QHD) display, allowing for a resolution two times higher than the conventional Full-HD. SK Telecom upgraded the quality of its mobile IPTV (B tv Mobile) through commercialization of wideband LTE-A service. With the upgrade, now it offers 4K Ultra High Definition (UHD) VoD streaming, which supports a resolution four times higher than Full HD. LG U+ launched a new unlimited LTE data plan accompanying a video streaming service “Uflix Movie”.
accompanying a video streaming service “Uflix Movie”. lKorea’s big three all secured their wideband LTE bands through the LTE frequency auction in August 2013. Since then they have been steadily expanding their wideband LTE networks. And now they all began to offer nationwide wideband LTE services starting from July 1, 2014 - SK Telecom and KT in 1.8 GHz band (Band 3) and LG U+ in 2.6 GHz (Band 7). lNow the operators are getting ready to launch another wideband LTE-A service at the end of the year. This service will support max. 300 Mbps, using 3-band CA that combines 40 MHz across 3 bands. LG U+ has already secured 40 MHz bandwidth across 3 bands (20 MHz in 2.6 GHz and two 10 MHz in 850 MHz and 2.1 GHz) through the frequency auction in 2013. It plans to begin the service as soon as the 3GPP standardization process for 3-band CA (B1+B5+B7) is completed. SK Telecom, having gained approval for using 10 MHz, out of 30 MHz originally allocated for 3G services in 2.1 GHz band, for LTE services earlier this year, already began building 2.1 GHZ base stations in May 2014. The company plans to boost its LTE speed up to 300 Mbps by the end of the year by using 3-band CA (B1+B3+B5) combining 20 MHz in 1.8 GHz and two 10 MHz in 850 MHz and 2.1 GHz. In the meantime, KT is waiting for approval for converting 10 MHz out of 20 MHz in 2.1 GHz band, from 3G purpose to LTE purpose. Once approved, KT will commercialize 3-band CA (B1+B3+B8) at the end of the year.lIn the fourth quarter of 2014, category 6 smartphones supporting 3-band CA are scheduled to be launched, and a maximum speed of 300 Mbps is expected to be supported. If everything goes as planned, it would be time for the country to take the first step into the world of GiGA mobile communications. LTE services that have been provided since its launch in 2011 and those scheduled to be provided in Korea are as follows:Table. Korean operators’ current and planned LTE services Max. RateTotal BW (DL) SK Telecom75 Mbps10 MHzJul. 2011B5150 Mbps20 MHzJun. 2013B3+B5CA -2-band CALG U+Jul. 2011B5Jul. 2013B1+B5KTJan. 2012B3Sep. 2013B3+B8150 Mbps20 MHzSep. 2013B3225 Mbps30 MHzJun 2014B3+B5-2-band CASep. 2013B7Jun 2014B5+B7Sep. 2013B3Jun 2014B3+B8300 Mbps40 MHzQ4 2014B1+B3+B53-band CAQ4 2014B1+B5+B7Q4 2014B1+B3+B8ServiceLTELTE-AWideband LTE2-band Wideband LTE-A3-band Wideband LTE-ALaunch date and service bands
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© Netmanias Consulting • www.netmanias.com
Korea Communication Review • July 2014• Launched Wideband LTE-A (225Mbps) (World’s second)• Launched LTE-A (150Mbps) (World’s first)13
• VoLTE (World’s first)
• World’s first full HD streaming • Launched Wideband LTE (150Mbps)• Launched LTE (75Mbps) service
• LTE subscribers: 12.3 M (45.1%)
• LTE subscribers: 7.5 M (27.9%)
• LTE subscribers: 634 K (2.4%)
10MHz (850MHz) + 10MHz (1.8GHz)
10MHz (850MHz)
SK Telecom
LG U+
KT
• Scheduled to offer Wideband LTE-A (300Mbps)
• Scheduled to offer Wideband LTE-A (300Mbps)
• Scheduled to offer Wideband LTE-A (300Mbps)
• Launched unlimited LTE data plan
• LTE subscribers: 13.5 M (49.3%)• Expanded Wideband LTE to metropolitan cities
• MWC 2013 Demonstration - CA (10+10MHz, 150Mbps)
LTE
LTE-A
Wideband LTE
Wideband LTE-A
10MHz
10+10MHz
20MHz
20+10MHz
Max 150Mbps
Max 225Mbps
Wideband LTE-A
Wideband LTE-A
20+10+10MHz
20+20+20MHz
Max 300Mbps
Max 450Mbps
x2
x3
x4
x6
• Wideband LTE-A (20+10MHz, 225Mbps) demonstration
Commercialized (by all 3 in 2013)
Commercialized (by all 3 in June)
To be commercialized (by all 3 in Q4)
To be commercialized (in 2015 or later)
• LTE subscribers: 14.9 M (53.1%)
• LTE subscribers: 1.8 M (6.7%)
20MHz (1.8GHz)• Launched LTE-A (150Mbps) (World’s second)• Multi-Carrier (World’s first)
• World’s first 4 CH multi-view • Launched Wideband LTE (150Mbps)
• LTE subscribers: 6.5 M (61.1%)
• LTE subscribers: 4.1 M (43.1%)
• LTE subscribers: 557 K (5.9%)
10MHz (850MHz)• Launched LTE (75Mbps) service
• VoLTE (World’s first)
• Launched unlimited LTE data plan
• LTE subscribers: 7.1 M (65.2%)• Expanded Wideband LTE to metropolitan cities
• MWC 2014 Demonstration - 3-Band CA (20+20+20MHz, 450Mbps) - Uplink CoMP - LTE + Giga Wi-Fi Femtocell
• LTE subscribers: 7.5 M (68.6%)
• LTE subscribers: 1.8 M (15.5%)
10MHz (850MHz) + 10MHz (2.1GHz)
20MHz (2.6GHz)
• HD 4Mbps streaming • Multi-Carrier • Launched LTE-A (150Mbps) (World’s third)
• LTE subscribers: 6.8 M (41.8%)
• LTE subscribers: 3.9 M (23.6%)• Launched LTE (75Mbps) service
• VoLTE • Launched Wideband LTE (150Mbps)
• Launched eMBMS (World’s first)
• Launched unlimited LTE data plan
• LTE subscribers: 7.9 M (47.9%)• Expanded Wideband LTE to metropolitan cities
• MWC 2014 Demonstration - 3-Band CA (20+20+20MHz, 450Mbps) - LTE-A CA Femtocell - FDD-TDD LTE CA - LTE-A + Giga Wi-Fi
• MWC 2013 Demonstration - eMBMS (KT+Samsung+Quacomm)
• LTE subscribers: 8.6 M (52.4%)
10MHz (1.8GHz)
• LTE subscribers: 351 K (2.1%)
10MHz (1.8GHz) + 10MHz (900MHz)
20MHz (1.8GHz) • Multi-Carrier (World’s first)Wideband LTE Spectrum AuctionQ41314
As of July 1, 2014
Max 75Mbps
Max 150Mbps
x1
x2
Commercialized (by SKT/LG U+ in 2011 and by KT in 2012)
Commercialized (by all 3 in 2013) LTE/LTE-A Commercialization by South Korea’s Big 3 Operators as of July 1, 2014
• MWC 2014 Demonstration - 3-Band CA (20+20+20MHz, 450Mbps) - LTE-A CA Femtocell - FDD-TDD LTE CA• Launched Wideband LTE-A (225Mbps) (World’s second)• Launched Wideband LTE-A (225Mbps) (World’s first)
20MHz (1.8GHz) + 10MHz (850MHz)
20MHz (2.6GHz) + 10MHz (850MHz)
20MHz (1.8GHz) + 10MHz (900MHz)10111212345668791234512345678910111212117121211121234567891011127123456810111279141Q453426
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© Netmanias Consulting • www.netmanias.com
Korea Communication Review • July 2014
850 MHz
900 MHz
1800 MHz
2600 MHz
Band 5
Band 8
Band 3
Band 7
1745
1755KT
1930
1725
1735
1715SKTKT
2520
2530
2540LG U+
MHz
MHz
MHzSKT
1840
1850
905
915KT
950
960KT
839
849LG U+
829
1810
1830
MHz
2110
MHz
2640
2650
2660SKTNationNationNationMajorMajor
884
894
874
Wideband LTENationwide
100
150 Nation
2120
Downlink
The Big 3: ㆍ Launched Wideband LTE-A service using 2-band CA in June 2014, offering max. 225 Mbps (20 + 10 MHz) ㆍ Expanded Wideband LTE service nationwide on July 1, 2014 ㆍ To launch Wideband LTE-A service using 3-band CA in Q4 2014, offering max. 300 Mbps (20 + 10 + 10 MHz) - SK Telecom has already been approved for using a portion (10 MHz) of 3G spectrum for LTE purpose, and KT is still waiting for approvalUELTE Frequency Commercialization Status (as of July 1, 2014)Carrier Aggregation (CA)
Uplink
225 Mbps
225 MbpsLG U+Nation
150
Nation: NationwideMajor: Major Cities LTE/LTE-A Commercialization by South Korea’s Big 3 Operators as of July 1, 2014
n Wideband LTE-A services in Korea (2014. 06)
2130SKT3GàLTE
1940LG U+NationwideSKTNationSKT3GàLTEMajorLG U+Wideband LTE100150 150 Nationwide
SKT
KT
225 Mbps
150 Mbps
1820
Wideband LTE 100150 150
2100 MHz
Band 1
1920LG U+MajorSK Telecom2-band30 (20 + 10) MHz2014. 06LG U+2-band30 (20 + 10) MHz2014. 06KT2-band30 (20 + 10) MHz2014. 061.8 GHz (B3) + 850 MHz (B5)2.6 GHz (B7) + 850 MHz (B5)1.8 GHz (B3) + 900 MHz (B8)225 Mbps225 Mbps225 Mbps
Operator# of bandBandwidth (DL)LaunchedCarriersMax. rate (DL)
Category 3
Category 4
100 Mbps (Wideband LTE)
150 Mbps (Wideband LTE, 20 MHz) 150 Mbps (LTE-A, 2-band CA, 10+10 MHz)
B1-B5
Categoty 6
300 Mbps (Wideband LTE-A, 3-band CA, 20+10+10 MHz)Planned (Q4 2014) Planned (Q4 2014)
SKT
B3-B8
B3-B5
B5-B7
225 Mbps (Wideband LTE-A, 2-band CA, 20+10 MHz)
Categoty 6
LG U+
KT
30 MHz: [B3]20 + [B5]10
30 MHz: [B5]10 + [B7]20
30 MHz: [B3]20 + [B8]10
225 Mbps
2-band
Category 6
LG U+
20 MHz: [B1]10 + [B5]10
150 Mbps
2-band
Category 4
SKT
B1-B3-B5
LG U+
KT
40 MHz: [B1]10 + [B3]20 + [B5]10
40 MHz: [B1]10 + [B5]10 + [B7]20
40 MHz: [B1*]10 + [B3]20 + [B8]10
300 Mbps
3-band
Category 6
B1-B5-B7
B1-B3-B8UE Category Max. Speed
Operator
UE Categoty
CA Type
BW: CA Combination
Max. SpeedSKTNationwide
* waiting for approval
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© Netmanias Consulting • www.netmanias.com
Korea Communication Review • July 2014
Broadband Access Network Architecture in Korea | By Chris Yoo
OLT
L3 SW
Splitter (1:4)
Splitter (1:8)
ONT
UTP
FTTH Dimensioning
• 32 ONTs per PON port
• 20 PON ports per OLT
• 640 ONTs per OLT
(5,000 ONT per OLT ~ planned)
100Mbps
ONT
Splitter
(32 ONTs)
Splitter (1:8)
Pole
Manhole
BRAS
Backbone
Central Office Edge
GE
GE
Gbps
Gbps
Gbps
Gbps
VDSL DSLAMs
L3 SW
Twisted pair
100Mbps
GE
Central Office
Central Office
L2 SWs
L3 SW
UTP
100Mbps
GE
Splitter
(1:4)
ONUs
UTP
100Mbps
Gbps
Gbps
Splitter
(1:4)
ONUs
(VDSL)
Twisted pair
100Mbps
Gbps
fiber
fiber
Gbps
100Mbps
Migration
Migration
E-PON
❶ Fiber to the home
❷ UTP to the home
❸ Twisted pair to the home
Single Homes
Apartment Home
Fiber to the home
nxGE
South Korea is a crowded country, with 50.3 million people in 18.8 million households. 47% of the total households
live in condominiums or apartment buildings while 40% live in single homes. Different types of housings require
different types of Internet access network topologies as seen in the figure below.
For a user living in a single home, an optical fiber cable from an OLT at the operator's CO (central office) is split once
by a splitter installed under a manhole in the street, and then again by another splitter installed on a pole near tHe
user's home. Next, one of the split cables is connected to an ONT in his home, and then on to his PC via a UTP LAN
port (100 Mbps).
E-PON: Ethernet Passive Optical Network
G-PON: Gigabit Passive Optical Network
OLT: Optical Line Terminal
ONU: Optical Network Unit
ONT: Optical Network Terminal
L3 SW: Layer 3 Switch
GE: Gigabit Ethernet
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© Netmanias Consulting • www.netmanias.com
Korea Communication Review • July 2014
Broadband Access Network Architecture in Korea
For a user living in a condominium or apartment building, the access network topology to be used slightly vary
depending on the wiring system installed in the building: fiber, UTP and twisted pair.
(1) Optic fiber: An optical fiber cable from the OLT is split by a splitter installed in MDF of the building. Then, one of
the split cables is connected to an ONT in the PC.
(2) UTP: Previously, each building had one L3 switch installed in its MDF, and multiple L2 switches installed floors
away from one another (e.g. on 5th, 10th and 15th in a 20-story building). The L3 switch was connected to the L2
switches on different floors. This type of topology requires L3 switches be located outside of (and far away from) the
operator's CO, leading to higher OPEX. Now, L3 Switches are replaced by splitters, and L2 switches are replaced by
ONUs, allowing splitters to be connected to an OLT at CO.
(3) Twisted pair: Previously, each building had one L3 switch in its MDF, and multiple VDSL DSLAMs installed floors
away from one another. Again, this type of topology requires L3 switches be located outside of (and far away from)
the operator's CO, leading to higher OPEX. Now, L3 switches are replaced by splitters, and L2 switches are replaced
by ONUs (VDSLs), allowing splitters to be connected to an OLT at CO.
KT’s broadband access network illustrated in the previous page is quite similar to that of SK Broadband and LG U+,
except KT and LG U+ use E-PON while SK Broadband uses G-PON.
All three operators support 100 Mbps in both UL and DL, and take care of the Internet, IPTV and VoIP traffic through
this one single cable (Triple Play Service). n
n Vendors selected by operators
KT SK (SK Broadband) LG U+
FTTH (OLT) ▶ E-PON: Dasan, ubiQuoss ▶ G-PON: Dasan, HFR, Tellion ▶ E-PON: Dasan, ubiQuoss
LAN
(L2/L3 Switch)
▶ L3 switch: Dasan, ubiQuoss
▶ L2 switch: Dasan, ubiQuoss
▶ L3 switch: Dasan, ubiQuoss
▶ L2 switch: Dasan, HFR, Tellion
▶ L3 switch: Dasan, ubiQuoss
▶ L2 switch: Dasan, ubiQuoss
XDSL ▶ VDSL DSLAM: ubiQuoss ▶ VDSL DSLAM: Dasan, Tellion ▶ VDSL DSLAM: Dasan, ubiQuoss
OLTs deployed
in big 3's networks
ubiQuoss (U9500H)
10G E-PON OLT
HFR (HT7000G)
G-PON OLT
Dasan (V8272)
E-PON OLT
ubiQuoss (U9024A)
Dasan (V5724G)
Tellion (GP 1140)
7
© Netmanias Consulting • www.netmanias.com
Korea Communication Review • July 2014 What's GiGAtopia envisioned by Chairman Chang-gyu Hwang of KT? | By Dr. Harrison J. Son
KT’s Vision: GiGAtopia
hairman Chang-gyu Hwang of KT (with sales of KRW 23.8 trillion in 2013), at a press conference held at KT Olleh Square in gggggggggg
Hwang estimates that the company will aim to commercialize UHD TV services (15~20 Mbps) by the end of the year, and employ its video streaming technology, 'Olleh Power Live (eMBMS)', to cover more key service areas in Seoul by the end of June, allowing users to watch various contents in HD resolution (max. 4 Mbps), 10 times better than the current DMB TV. In 2013, the company faced an 'annual deficit' for the first time due to sales declines in its wired service division combined with a near-stagnant subscriber growth in the wireless service division. To make matters worse, the constant disharmony and non-cooperation among members in the company have led to KT's worst year, both internally and externally. Chairman Hwang took office on January 27, 2014. With the company still recovering from its devastating year's poor performance, he, as a result, has been busy dealing with a series of non-stop issues and incidents ever since then. He had to make an apology for leakage of personal information of 1.2 million customers in his first official press conference.Gwanghwamun, Seoul on May 20, announced that "KT will open up a new age of GiGAtopia by investing KRW 4.5 trillion (USD 4.4 billion) in GiGA FTTH, GiGA Path (heterogeneous networks convergence technology that combines LTE and Wi-Fi networks), and GiGA Wire (copper wire-based transmission technology) for the next three years." Through this investment, the company first plans to provide Giga-class wired Internet services such as GiGA Wire (300 Mbps) and GiGA FTTH (1 Gbps), which are three times and ten times faster than the current 100 Mbps, respectively. The company also plans on accelerating the wireless Internet access three folds by employing heterogeneous networks convergence technologies (e.g. IP Flow Mobility) that combine LTE and Wi-Fi networks. With these new Giga-infrastructures, Chairman Hwang estimates that the company will aim to
C
Source: KT
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© Netmanias Consulting • www.netmanias.com
Korea Communication Review • July 2014
What's GiGAtopia envisioned by Chairman Chang-gyu Hwang of KT?
On March 14, the company was even ordered to
suspend marketing to a new customer base for 45
days. In addition to that, he had over 8,300
employees voluntarily resign to help the company
overcome the management crisis that it was facing
in April.
Under such dire circumstances, KT desperately
needed a solution that could have all of its
members re-united, and eliminate the market's
concern about the company. Thus, the idea of
GiGAtopia was born. GiGAtopia is all about high
speed. Just as he won a capacity battle while
serving as a former head of Samsung Electronics'
semiconductor business, by doubling flash memory
capacity every year, Chairman Hwang is trying to
win another battle - a high-speed Internet battle -
now in the communication market. The company
plans to provide Gbps-level, wired and wireless,
Internet services.
The company introduced the concept of GiGAtopia,
which integrates the various technologies and
services it has been developing for many years. KT
said it would invest KRW 4.5 trillion over the next
three years, and through the investment, would
position itself as a leader in the mobile
communication industry, domestically and
globally.
Later in a forum titled "the 20th anniversary of
Korean Internet commercialization and the GiGA
age" held at KT Olleh Square on June 19, Mr.
Seong-mok Oh, head of the Network Business
Division at KT,
Seong-mok Oh, head of the Network Business
Division at KT, announced the company would
commercialize GiGA FTTH and GiGA Wire in the
second half of this year.
Finally, KT is about to make a long-delayed leap
from 100 Mbps - which has remained unimproved
for 9 long years since its launch of FTTH service
back in 2005 - to 1 Gbps.
▶ GiGA Internet (GiGA FTTH)
GiGA Internet service can boost the capacity of the
ultra-high speed Internet to 1 Gbps, 10 times faster
than the current speed of 100 Mbps. This service
will be available for those who have UTP or fiber
installed at home.
(As of April, 2014, KT has 8.0 million broadband
subscribers. 35.1% of them (2.82 million) are
connected by UTP cables, and 47.7% (3.83 million)
are connected by fiber cables.)
FTTH
3.8M
LAN/UTP (47.7%)
2.8M
(35.1%)
XDSL
1.4M
(17.1%)
GiGA Internet (GiGA FTTH)
KT broadband subscribers
100Mbps FTTH GiGA FTTH 100Mbps VDSL GiGA WIRE 150Mbps LTE GiGA PATH
10X
3X
300Mbps
1 Gbps
3X
450Mbps
100Mbps 100Mbps
150Mbps
Fixed: UTP or Fiber cable Fixed: Twisted pair Mobile
LTE 150Mbps +
Wi-Fi 300Mbps
GiGAtopia is all about high speed.
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© Netmanias Consulting • www.netmanias.com
Korea Communication Review • July 2014
What's GiGAtopia envisioned by Chairman Chang-gyu Hwang of KT?
All the FTTH services currently available from
South Korea's big three operators can support only
up to about 100 Mbps in UL/DL, at most. That's
why GiGA Internet is Chairman Hwang's No. 1
priority in his speed battle.
GiGA Internet is also an E-PON based network,
much like current 100 Mbps FTTH networks.
ONTs currently installed at customer homes must
be replaced by new giga ONTs (ones with GE LAN
ports). KT has been replacing ONTs in selected
areas since last year, and has also started switching
OLTs in COs to ones with higher-capacity (capable
of covering 5,000 ONTs, and supporting 10G PON
ports and 10 GE uplinks) this year.
For this GiGA Internet service, network
infrastructures required for provision of the service
have been built; however, no specific product has
been released yet. This is because there have been
issues regarding the pricing policy of the service.
Once KT begins the service, it will have to deal with
increased costs of investment in access lines (Giga
ONT, high-capacity OLT/10 GE PON). Not only
that, costs of investment in backbone networks will
also rise due to increased backbone traffic resulting
from installation of Gbps-level access lines and
more importantly because of fast-growing freeriding
traffic like P2P. This has been the biggest
concern for KT. To address these issues, various
measures like partial volume-based charging,
limited traffic for heavy users, etc. have been
proposed. The company has already submitted a
pricing plan that reflects the suggested measures to
the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning for
approval. Negotiations between the two are taking
place for finalization of the plan.
If KT wants to begin GiGA Internet service in the
second half of this year as it proudly announced,
the pricing issues must be handled first. As noted
earlier, KT has to make significant investment
before launching the service.
ONU
ONT
ONT
100Mbps OLT
(E-PON) L3 SW BRAS
Home Central Office
100Mbps
100Mbps
GE
640 ONTs/OLT
10Gbps
1Gbps
1Gbps
1Gbps
ONU
Giga ONT
Giga ONT
1Gbps High capacity OLT
(10G E-PON)
BRAS
1Gbps
1Gbps
10Gbps
5,000 ONTs/OLT
Edge Core
KT IP Backbone
(KORNET)
Splitter
Migration
Down:10Gbps
Up: 10Gbps
Down:10Gbps
Up: 1Gbps
24 ports
UTP
UTP
Replace
ONT
1G è10G
High capacity
OLT
Remove L3 switch:
Network Simplification
100 Mbps
to the Home
GiGA Internet
(1 Gbps to the
Home)
100Mbps
è1Gbps
Replace
ONU
KT IP Backbone
(KORNET)
Migration to GiGA Internet (1 Gbps to the home)
10
© Netmanias Consulting • www.netmanias.com
Korea Communication Review • July 2014
What's GiGAtopia envisioned by Chairman Chang-gyu Hwang of KT?
before launching the service. Besides, most of
South Korean network vendors have recently been
struggling in a bad economy. Given that, the
Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning is
expected to approve the pricing plan suggested by
KT, eventually.
▶ GiGA Wire
47% of households in South Korea live in
condominiums or apartments. This results in lots
of high-density residential areas, consequently
allowing for very short last-mile distances. Thanks
to this unique nature of housing in this nation and
the abundant fiber-optic cables deployed
nationwide, South Korea has been recognized as a
global leader in ultra-high speed Internet services
and technologies since the early 2000s. More than
60% of the nation's households have UTP or fiber
cables installed in their homes. Despite South
Korea's highly developed access infrastructure,
9.3% (1.8 million) of the households still use the
existent twisted pairs to access the Internet.
This may not sound like a big market in South
Korea. But, operators still have to provide solutions
that can cover and serve all households with
that can cover and serve all households with
different cabling environments. Because of this, the
South Korean big three operators have been
developing solutions that can support hundreds of
Mbps for those who are still using the original, old
twisted pair-based Internet service. For KT, GiGA
Wire was the product of such efforts.
GiGA Wire is for users who live in old houses or
apartments where only a twisted pair of cables are
installed. By employing G.hn (ITU-T) technology,
the service will support 300 Mbps in DL (three
times faster than the current VDSL's 100 Mbps)
and 100Mbps in UL,
DSLAM
100Mbps
GE (UTP
or Fiber)
Twisted pair
VDSL Modem
Splitter
(1:4)
GAM
300Mbps
Gbps
Twisted pair
GNT: G.hn Network Terminal
GAM: G.hn Access Multiplexer with E-PON uplink
Splitter
(1:4)
ONUs
100Mbps
Gbps
Twisted pair
VDSL Modem
ONU: VDSL DSLAM with E-PON uplink
Splitter
(1:4)
GAM
300Mbps
Gbps
Twisted pair
GNT: G.hn Network Terminal
GAM: G.hn Access Multiplexer with E-PON uplink
L3 SW
100 Mbps
To the Home
(VDSL)
300 Mbps
To the Home
(G.hn)
FTTH
3.8M
LAN/UTP (47.7%)
2.8M
(35.1%)
XDSL
1.4M
(17.1%)
GiGA Wire
KT broadband subscribers
Migration to GiGA Wire (300Mbps to the home)
11
© Netmanias Consulting • www.netmanias.com
Korea Communication Review • July 2014
What's GiGAtopia envisioned by Chairman Chang-gyu Hwang of KT?
and 100 Mbps in UL, or 200 Mbps in DL and UL.
This service is scheduled to be available in the
second half of the year. GiGA Wire is KT's
proprietary technology, and not one of the
standardized technologies. The technology was
designed by KT, chips used were supplied by a chip
vendor Marvell, and GNT and GAM that function
as a modem and DSLAM in VDSL respectively were
provided by ubiQuoss.
▶ GiGA Path
GiGA Path is a heterogeneous network convergence
technology that improves transmission rates of
mobiles by combining LTE and Wi-Fi. It can be
roughly divided into two types: app-based and
network-based. In case of an app-based approach,
there is no separate gateway in the network.
Instead, it works as an "app" in a smartphone so
that data can be sent or received through either
LTE or Wi-Fi between the service app in the
smartphone and KT's streaming server in KT's IP
network. KT has named this technology as "Always
Best Connected (ABC)", and has employed it in its
Olleh TV mobile apps and Olleh TV streaming
server since 2013.
TV streaming server since 2013. Currently, this
type can be used only for Streaming services that
are directly developed and operated by KT, and not
for video streaming services by OTTs (like
YouTube). On the other hand, in case of a networkbased
approach, there is an anchoring point, like
mobile IP HA (IFOM: IP Flow Mobility) or multi-
TCP proxy server, to be used for diverging traffic.
At the end of last year, KT succeeded in
demonstrating the combination of LTE 150 Mbps
and Wi-Fi 300 Mbps (802.11n) into 450 Mbps by
using IFOM technology on the Galaxy Note 3. Now
the company is considering furthering the
employment of multi-Path TCP technology as well.
This type of approach does not require
interoperation with CSPs or OTTs, and as a result
can be used in video streaming or file downloading
by OTTs and CSPs. Thus, it would only be natural
for KT to stick to both the app-based approach (for
transmitting its own contents) and network-based
approach (for transmitting contents from other
CSP or OTT). Now that we are familiar with KT's
GiGAtopia, we will find about evolution strategies
of SK Telecom and LG U+ in August. n
KT IP Backbone
LTE Network IP Backhaul
P-GW
KT Olleh TV Mobile
Streaming Server
eNB Wi-Fi AP
KT IP Backbone
LTE Network IP Backhaul
P-GW
CSP, OTT
(e.g., File Box)
eNB Wi-Fi AP
HA
Public Internet
GRE Tunnel
App-based approach (ABC) Network-based approach (IFOM)
DSMIPv6 Client
DSMIPv6 Home Agent
Olleh TV Mobile App
150 Mbps 300 Mbps
450 Mbps
Movie file
Interworking
Interworking
GiGA Path is a heterogeneous network convergence technology that improves transmission rates of
mobiles by combining LTE and Wi-Fi.
Small RRH
Small BS
with Wi-Fi
CPRI
GPON/GE GE
Macro LTE RRH
BBU Pool
8300
Ethernet Backhaul
CPRI Fronthaul
CPRI
GE
SAE-GW
Small Cell Macro Cell Site
85 00
81 00
83 00
Central Office
SAE-GW
EPC Site
IP/MPLS
Baseband I/Q stream
Ethernet frame
HSN 8300
HSN 8500
flexHaulTM
Solution
HSN 8100
ls : CPRI traffic
ls : Ethernet traffic
GE
HSN 8300
Netmanias: Welcome! Thank you for
being with us. Can you tell us a little
bit about HFR first?
HFR: HFR was founded in 2000. And
we have been providing wired/
wireless operators and enterprises
with various equipment such as WDM
including Mobile Fronthaul, Carrier
Ethernet, FTTx, Wi-Fi, Repeaters, etc.
Netmanias: What are the concept
and position of your flexiHaul?
HFR: Our flexiHaul product line is a
family of fronthaul units that
connects BBUs and RRHs in the
emerging next generation
architecture, C-RAN.
Our flexiHaul series are WDM
solutions. What they do is to
aggregate (fronthauling) macro/
micro/small RRH (CPRI) traffic, and
aggregate (backhauling) legacy base
station, compact base station (pico),
and Wi-Fi traffic to a single
aggregation network.
Netmanias: These C-RAN and
fronthaul may sound new to some of
us. Can you tell us more about them?
HFR: Sure. To handle soaring data
traffic, operators have been making
macro cells smaller, and this has
apparently left the operators with
more cells to build and operate. To
save costs in building and operating
cell sites, a new architecture called CRAN
was introduced. It is also known
as “Centralized RAN” or “Cloud RAN”.
With this C-RAN, operators can simply
leave all RRHs in their cell sites, but
move only BBUs to a centralized
location at central offices or master
cell sites. C-RAN has drastically
lowered the cell site cost (Capex/
Opex), and has maximized the effects
of CoMP and eICIC of LTE-A. This
helps to improve not only service
quality, but also network
performance. Because of these
benefits, many operators around the
world have been conducting trial tests
for C-RAN deployment. And two of
the most advanced LTE operators in
South Korea, and also in the world, SK
Telecom and KT, already succeeded in
commercializing it back in 2012.
Now that RRHs and BBUs are
remotely separated in C-RAN, a new
network was required in order to
deliver a huge volume of baseband
Netmanias Vendor Interview with HFR
I/Q streams between the two across
CPRI or OBSAI link. Previously, both
RRHs and BBUs were located in eNBs,
and the transport network between
eNBs and EPC was called backhaul.
Now in C-RAN, these new CPRI and
OBSAI networks are called fronthaul.
Netmanias: I see. Then, fronthaul is a
newly defined segment in a mobile
operator’s access network. What are
the technical requirements for the
fronthaul then?
HFR: The fronthaul network should be
able to satisfy requirements under
LTE layer protocol operation and
under the CPRI specification. First of
all, ultra-high transmission capacity
(as high as 2.5 GMbps~10 Gbps) for
delivering baseband I/Q data is
required, and latency caused within
equipment in the fronthaul network
should be minimized to a few secs to
maximize the distance between BBUs
and RRHs.
In-C-RAN, since RRH has no GPS
antenna, it extracts clock from I/Q bit
stream received from BBU. And then
it removes jitter and generates the
clocks (CPRI/sampling/carrier
12
© Netmanias Consulting • www.netmanias.com
Korea Communication Review • July 2014
HFR is probably most known as a vendor of wired/wireless network equipment like Mobile fronthaul, Carrier
Ethernet, FTTx, etc. Today, we are going to talk about one of its most popular solutions, flexiHaulTM, a mobile optical
access solution.
HFR’s flexiHaulTM Fronthaul Solution
frequency, etc.) to be used in the RRH system. So, the RRH system performance varies depending on the quality of the recovered clock. That’s why jitter has to be minimized in the fronthaul network, and the CPRI specification defines the maximum frequency accuracy budget as 0.002 ppm. Also, to guarantee the time/phase synchronization required in LTE-A (eICIC, CoMP), the CPRI time/phase synchronization should be strictly ensured in the fronthaul as well. So, we can say ensuring low latency and synchronization between BBU and RRH are the most important and demanding jobs for the fronthaul. Netmanias: You mean, transport capacity, low-latency and highly accurate synchronization are key factors, right? HFR: That’s right.Netmanias: I see. Then, what possible ways have been suggested to satisfy such demanding technical requirements?HFR: There have been several ways. First, in terms of technology, the best option would be using dark fiber. But the problem with this option is that it would only work for those who already have plenty of fiber, and others including most operators would have to lease it. And obviously this can cost a lot. For example, a network with LTE Carrier BW of 20MHz, 2x2 antenna, 3-sector, 2 bands would require 6 RRHs in each cell site, which means 6 leased fibers in each cell site. The second option would be OTN, which I would say has room for improvement. The problem with this option is that, latency and jitter are caused during OTN mapping/demapping/multiplexing. And this leads to longer latency in the fronthaul network, and degraded RRH system performance, respectively. So, the OTN standards and equipment development need to be improved in a way that can optimize CPRI transmission. The third option is WDM. With WDM, just a single or two fibers can cover tens of CPRI channels. So, fiber costscan be lowered, and high-volume transmission is possible. There are two types of WDM, passive and active. The best part of passive WDM is that it is inexpensive, and requires no power supply. Besides, little latency or jitter is caused, and so the distance between BBU and RRH can be maximized, without affecting LTE/LTE-A performance much. Active WDM is bidirectional (single fiber). So, dark fiber costs can be lowered. And by using Muxponder, the number of required can be minimized, which can further lower the fiber costs. What’s even better, operators can even monitor the quality of the fronthaul network by running a self loopback test on active WDM units. But, one thing to note is that active WDM may cause latency and jitter, which should be kept under certain levels.Netmanias: I see. What kinds of technologies have been used in building the fronthaul network with the current commercial C-RAN?HFR: C-RAN was commercialized by Korean mobile operators for the first time in the world. They have adopted both passive and active WDM, and we also support both of them. But, today I will only talk about flexiHaul solution, which is an active WDM solution.Netmanias: Now, let’s talk about your fronthaul solution, flexiHaul. HFR: Our flexiHaul solution consists of the HSN series (HSN 8500/8300/8100/8110). HSN 8500 models are installed in BBU pool sites, and support 40 λs and 72 CPRI ports. These models support the three CPRI service cards, i) transponder card that supports three option 3/4/5/6 CPRI ports, ii) Muxponder card that supports four option 3/4 CPRI ports, and iii) Muxponder card that supports two option 3/4/5/6 CPRI ports. And all three CPRI cards have been deployed in SK Telecom’s commercial network. Muxponder cards use one per card. So, fewer are required. And that allows HSN 8500 to aggregate RRHs at the maximum level. HSN8300/8100/8110 models are RTs installed at cell sites. Netmanias: How many RRHs can one HSN 8500 unit cover?HFR: One HSN 8500 unit has up to 72 option 3/4 CPRI ports. So, each can aggregate up to 72 RRHs. By default, it can have two rings, and each ring has up to 36 CPRI ports. This means, operators can aggregate CPRI traffic from 36 RRHs with just a single fiber, and boost the transmission capacity of each ring up to 90 Gbps. Of course, they can create custom configuration that would fit best into their networks.Netmanias: Then, tens of RRHs are connected to centralized BBUs through the fronthaul rings. What if there is a fiber cut? Will that leave tens of devices disconnected? HFR: That’s right. But, fortunately, our flexiHaul solution offers instant protection switching within 50 msec in case of a fiber cut. So, CPRI traffic is detoured without delay, preventing any service interruption. Netmanias: Does the flexiHaul solution meet the fronthaul requirements you mentioned earlier?HFR: The flexiHaul solution is a fronthaul solution using WDM, so has no capacity issue. One HSN 8500 can deliver CPRI traffic up to 180 Gbps. It has many excellent technical features we have developed to minimize latency and jitter which can affect LTE/LTE-A. So, for example, in a ring with COT and RTs, a fronthaul end-to-end latency excluding fiber latency can be kept under 1μsec, and jitter can be kept under a few nsecs.More than 3,500 flexiHaulTM units are currently running in SK Telecom's commercial LTE/LTE-A network. And I guess that proves our solution has met all the strict technical requirements of fronthaul. Netmanias: I saw CPRI/OBSAI, and also GE and GPON cards plugged in a flexiHaul unit. What are those cards for? 13
© Netmanias Consulting • www.netmanias.com
Korea Communication Review • July 2014
Netmanias Vendor Interview with HFR
HFR: When a legacy operator builds an LTE network, there are already legacy 3G base stations in its cell sites. Our flexiHaul RT units (HSN 8300/8100) accommodate 3G BSs through the GE interface, and connect LTE RRHs through the CPRI interface. That way, they can accommodate the two access networks in a single network. GE and GPON cards connect small cells (pico) or Wi-Fi APs. If no fiber is available in a small cell area, operators can connect small cells by accessing microwave devices through the GE interface. Netmanias: In case of wholesale, a fronthaul provider must monitor the quality of fronthaul and report to mobile operators. Then, the two demarcation points would be the one between RRH and RT (HSN 8300/8100), and the other one between BBU and COT (HSN 8500). What key performance indicators are provided? HFR: Our solution checks the transmission quality of each CPRI signal as well as optical fiber, through real-time monitoring of BER of optical and CPRI signals transmitted/received at CPRI ports. At each CPRI port transmission interval, a loopback test can be run for troubleshooting.Netmanias: What are the benefits that your flexiHaul solution can bring to operators?HFR: First of all, our solution can save them a lot in costs of building and operating networks. Because the flexiHaul solution features WDM, dark fiber costs will go down. If they use Muxponder cards that can connect four CPRI ports to one, the cost will go down even further.And because the flexiHaul solution keeps a one-way latency less than 1 sec, the fiber distance in the fronthaul network can be increased up to 25 km. If the distance between BBU and RRH increases, the fewer BBU Cos are required. This allows operators to centralize more BBUs, and lower down costs in maintaining sites. Netmanias: So, the No. 1 benefit is saving costs. I guess that would be the biggest benefit to operators especially when higher traffic doesn’t mean higher profits like these days. Any other benefits? HFR: HFR’s fronthaul solution offers extremely low latency and jitter. So, it can maximize the performance of LTE-Advanced features such as CoMP and eICIC, eventually improving the LTE-A service quality and network performance. These days operators are in fierce competition to attract customers. With our solution, operators can prevent customer churn and attract new subscribers by providing better service quality than other competitors. Our ring protection within 50 msecs feature ensures any link failure is recovered instantly to minimize LTE/LTE-A service interruption. Not only that, operators can monitor the quality of the fronthaul link through BER and CV (Code Violation) of CPRI data that is being monitored in real time.Netmanias: C-RAN was initially proposed by China’s CM. But, it was Korean operators (e.g., SK Telecom) who actually commercialized it. And a fronthaul network, which made C-RAN work, was also commercialized by Korean operators for the first time in the world. Then there came your flexiHaul series. You have done a pretty impressive job of developing and introducing new solutions that the market has wanted right in time. But, now many vendors, stimulated by huge popularity of C-RAN, are working hard to develop new fronthaul products. What makes the flexiHaul solutions better and more competitive than that of your competitors? HFR: We have been stabilizing and optimizing systems in real commercial networks, and have accumulated technical know-how for many years. And those experiences and know-how are our biggest assets that can make us ready to work any time. Our solutions are not in the proof of concept (POC) step, but are fully proven, ready to use. That’s what really put us ahead of everyone else. We are the ONLY one who can achieve the best time-to-market with the least trial and error in building a fronthaul network.Netmanias: What are the examples of the large-scaled deployment of the flexiHaul solution?HFR: We have deployed the flexiHaul solution in SK Telecom’s network since 2012, helping the company to build its nation-wide fronthaul network, in 84 major cities. 80% of the fronthaul networks were built with active WDM, and 50% of the units deployed were our flexiHaul. Also, we went global. Since 2013, we have conducted many trial tests with operators in Europe and Asia.Netmanias: C-RAN sounds like a pretty good option for operators to manage cost and performance issues. It looks like fronthaul is the key that can make the option work. And I have to admit that I got an impression that you guys know exactly what to do when it comes to fronthaul. Well, I guess that’s it for today. Thank you so much for your time!HFR: Thank you for having me! n......About HFR (www.hfrnet.com)HFR has been actively responding to the Cloud RAN market under LTE environment. We expect that our front-haul solution will become representative product in global equipment market. Also, HFR has been leading the high-speed internet equipment with the development for Giga Internet service area. Basedon its competitive solutions in the wire and wireless communications fields, HFR is determined to becomeKorea’s leading network equipment company.For more information, please visit www.hfrnet.com 14
© Netmanias Consulting • www.netmanias.com
Korea Communication Review • July 2014
Netmanias Vendor Interview with HFR
1 3 5 7 9 11 1 3 5 7 9 11 1 3 5
2012 2013 2014
4G (LTE)
3G (WCDMA)
77.2
[PB]
9.2
3
21
44.5
17.1
As of the end of May 2014, the LTE traffic reached
77.2 PB, which is 8.39 times higher than 3G traffic.
Monthly LTE Traffic grew By 164% from 44.5 PB
to 77.2 PB over the last one year.
4G smartphone, 3G smartphone and 2G/3G
feature phone users generate 2.54 GB, 1.37 GB and
5 MB of traffic on average per month.
As of the end of May 2014, 38.7M subscribers,
which is 69.7% of the total 55.5M mobile
subscribers, are smartphone users.
1 6 1 6 1 4
2011 2012 2013 2014
Smarthpone
Feature Phone
Smart Pad
52.5M
55.2M
38.7M
(69.7%)
16.1M
(29.1%)
0.65M
(1.1%)
21.3M
(40.8%)
30.5M
(58.3%)
0.48M
(0.9%)
* Source: Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning
15
© Netmanias Consulting • www.netmanias.com
Korea Communication Review • July 2014
LTE Statistics in Korea
As of May, 2015, the total number of mobile subscribers in Korea hit 55.5 million.
This indicates that Korea has a penetration rate of 110.3%, considering its population, 50.3 million.
Korea has 31.9 million LTE subscribers, which account for 57.5% of the total mobile subscribers.
n LTE subscribers (November 2007 – May 2014)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
7 9 11 1 3 5 7 9 11 1 3 5 7 9 11 1 3 5
2012 2013 2014
[Million]
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Q1
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 20132014
2G
3G
4G
[Million]
2011
May 2014
31.9M
(57.5%)
23.6M
(42.5%)
Launch LTE
services (July,
2011)
55.5M
2G & 3G
4G LTE
n Mobile data usage in Korea [PB/Month] n Mobile subscribers - Split per device type
SK Telecom
KT
LG U+
27.8M
(50.1%)
16.7M
(30.1%)
11.0M
(19.8%)
55.2M
Mobile
subscribers
in Korea
May 2014
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4
2011 2012 2013 2014
SK Telecom
KT
LG U+
[Million]
16
© Netmanias Consulting • www.netmanias.com
Korea Communication Review • July 2014
South Korea’s top 3 operators have LTE
subscription rates that are higher than any of its
global competitors who launched the same service
before them, especially LG U+ with the seemingly
unbeatable 68.8% as of the end of March 2014.
68.8%
53.2%
52.4%
49.3%
34.8%
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1
2011 2012 2013 2014
LG U+ (Korea)
SK Telecom (Korea)
KT (Korea)
Verizon (US)
Docomo (Japan)
As of the end of May 2014, SK Telecom has 15.0M
LTE subscribers, which account for 47.1% of the
total LTE subscribers in Korea.
Mobile subscribers trace – Split per network (November 2011 – May 2014)
3. LG U+
11.0M
9.3M
4G (LTE)
2G (CDMA)
3.4M
(30.5%)
9.0M
(96.6%)
0.3M
(3.4%)
7.7M
(69.5%)
LTE Deployment Status by Operator in Korea (November 2007 – May 2014)
15.0M
(47.1%)
9.2M
(28.7%)
7.7M
(24.1%)
1 6 1 6 1
2011 2012 2013 2014
5
n LTE subscribers growth by operator n LTE subscription rate
26.5M
27.8M
4G (LTE)
3G (WCDMA)
2G (CDMA)
8.96M
(32.3%)
3.8M
(13.7%)
0.4M
(1.4%)
19.0M
(71.8%)
7.1M
(26.7%)
1. SK Telecom
15.0M
(54.1%)
1 6 1 6 1
2011 2012 2013 2014
5
4G (LTE)
3G (WCDMA)
7.5M
16.4M (45.2%)
(99.1%)
16.5M 16.7M
2. KT
9.2M
(54.8%)
1 6 1 6 1
2011 2012 2013 2014
5
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
* Source 1: Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning
* Source 2: KT, SK Broadband and LG U+
n Broadband subscription rate (Q1 2005 – Q1 2014)
The broadband subscription rate in Korea has been steadily increasing, reaching 76.6% in Q1 2005, 100% in
Q4 2010, and 103% in April 2014.
KT
Cable operators
LG U+
Million
n Broadband subscribers by operator (Q1 2005 – Q1 2014)
KT
SK (SK Broadband)
LG U+
Cable
Operators
8.0M
(42.4%)
18.9M
Broadband
subscribers
in Korea
(May 31, 2014)
4.66M
(24.6%)
2.98M
(15.8%)
3.13M
(16.6%)
As of the end of May 2014, Korea has 18.9M broadband subscribers, and 42.4% of them (i.e. 8.0M) are KT
users, which makes the company the unrivaled No. 1 in the country’s broadband market.
Q4 2010: 100%
Broadband subscribers
# of Households
18,852,555
18,269,153
Million
Click the link below to see statistics information on wired/wireless services and subscribers in Korea.
https://www.netmanias.com/en/?m=view&id=statistics_ict&no=6041
SK (SK Broadband)
17
© Netmanias Consulting • www.netmanias.com
Korea Communication Review • July 2014
Broadband Subscribers in Korea
3.84
1.24
0.29
0.03
2.82
1.82
1.77
0.63
1.36
0.35
0.03
1.26
0.93
2.45
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
KT SK LG U+ MSO
Million
XDSL
LAN (UTP)
HFC (Cable)
FTTH OLT
ONT
PON
OLT
L3 SW
ONU
Edge &
Backbone
Home CO
UTP PON
UTP
L2 SW
L3 SW
UTP
UTP
FTTH
LAN
Last mile line
• FTTH: Optical fiber (ONT at home)
• LAN: UTP cable (from L2 switch or ONU)
18
© Netmanias Consulting • www.netmanias.com
Korea Communication Review • July 2014
Since its launch in 2006, FTTH service subscribers have continued to increase. As of the end of May 2014, 5.4M
(28.6% of the total broadband subscribers) are subscribing to this service. Different FTTH technologies have been
adopted by the big 3 operators – E-PON by KT, G-PON by SK, and E-PON by LG U+ – but they all support 100
Mbps in UL and DL.
-
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1
2015 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
LAN (UTP)
FTTH
HFC
XDSL
Million
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
7.1M LAN (UTP)
(37.5%)
4.7M
(24.7%)
HFC
FTTH
5.4M
(28.6%)
XDSL
1.7M
(9.2%)
18.9M
Broadband
subscribers
in Korea
(May 2014)
Korea has 5.4M FTTH subscribers, and 71.1% of them (i.e. 3.84M) are KT users, making the company the
No. 1 FTTH service provider in the country.
Broadband Subscribers in Korea – Access Technologies
8.0M
4.66M
2.98M 3.14M
n Broadband subscribers trace by access technology (Q1 2005 – Q1 2014)
n Broadband subscribers by operator – per access technology (May 2014)
19
© Netmanias Consulting • www.netmanias.com
Korea Communication Review • July 2014
Pay TV Subscribers in Korea
n Pay TV subscribers trace
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Million
Cable
IPTV
Satellite
The number of IPTV subscribers is increasing fast. It exceeded 9M in March 2014, and reached 9.2M a month
later. This was an increase of 150,000 a month on average. With this growth rate, it is expected to exceed 10M
this year. As the competition among IPTV, cable and satellite operators was getting tougher, they began UHD
service in an effort to prevent subscriber churn and attract new subscribers. The service was launched by the
cable operators and SK Broadband, in April. And KT and LG U+ are scheduled to begin the service by the end of
this year.
n IPTV subscribers trace by telco
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
KT
SK Broadband
LG U+
Million
Growth in Korea’s IPTV market has been mostly driven by KT. As of April 2014, the company has 5.2M IPTV
subscribers, which is 56.4% Of the country’s total. IPTV operators in the market are in fierce competition with
each other as well as with cable operators.
n UHD TV services
Cable
14.8M
(52.4%)
9.2M
(32.7%)
4.2M
(14.9%)
IPTV
Satellite
28.3M
Pay TV
subscribers
in Korea
(April 2014)
SK Broadband
KT
LG U+
5.2M
(56.4%)
2.3M
(25.0%)
1.7M
(18.6%)
9.2M
IPTV subscribers
in Korea
(April 2014)
Frame rate 60 fps 30 fps 30 fps (60 fps planned)
Resolution 4K (3840x2160) 4K (3840x2160) 4K (3840x2160)
Encoding rate 32Mbps 15Mbps 30Mbps
Codec HEVC (H.265) HEVC (H.265) HEVC (H.265)
Launch 2014.04 2014.04 2014.06
Cable TV
(CJ Hellovision, C&M, t-broad)
IPTV
(SK Broadband)
Satellite TV
(KT Skylife)
Locations
Headquarter2F, Namyeong Building730-13, Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 135-921,Korea
Branch Office3832 NE 88th StreetSeattle, WA 98115USA
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About Netmanias (www.netmanias.com)NMC Consulting Group (Netmanias) is an advanced and professional network consulting company, specializing in IP network areas (e.g., FTTH, Metro Ethernet and IP/MPLS), service areas (e.g., IPTV, IMS and CDN), and wireless network areas (e.g., Mobile WiMAX, LTE and Wi-Fi) since 2002. Carrier WiFiData Center Migration Wireline NetworkLTE/LTE Advanced Mobile Network Mobile WiMAX Carrier Ethernet FTTH Data Center Policy Control/PCRF IPTV/TPS Metro Ethernet MPLS IP Routing 990001020304050607080910111213eMBMS/Mobile IPTV ServicesCDN/Mobile CDN Transparent Caching BSS/OSS Cable TPS Voice/Video Quality IMS LTE Backhaul/Fronthaul
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