Canada's Nortel Networks Corp said this week that its UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system) equipment, based on an emerging European standard, was successfully used to make a voice call at a test site of KT-ICOM, the high-speed services arm of Korea Telecom Corp, the nation's state-run mobile and fixed-line company.
UMTS networks promise consumers data-rich services including location-based marketing, multimedia messaging, game playing and shopping, but have been slow to be put in service in Europe as networks wrestle with high entry fees, brought about by billion-dollar spectrum auctions.
KT-ICOM plans to have a limited UMTS network running by the end of May 2002, to coincide with one of the world's best-watched sporting events, which will be co-hosted by Japan.
The so-called third-generation (3G) network would put Korea on par with Japan, where NTT DoCoMo Inc has deployed a 3G network on limited devices, and in a limited coverage area to a small base of subscribers.
