Blackberry: Korean mobile Internet phone regulations
2007/12/19 12:42The Wall Street Journal has an article (paid subscription required) on how Korea's Wireless Internet Platform Interoperability (WIPI) regulations are hampering attempts by Canadian companies Research in Motion (RIM) and Telus to bring the Blackberry to South Korea.
People here have fast Internet connections across the country, but using a BlackBerry is a different story. And similar challenges may await the iPhone.
South Korean rules designed in 2005 help local software companies develop programs that run on any of the nation's three big cellphone networks.
Update: The Korea Times just posted a similar article to the one from the WSJ outlining the issues raised by RIM, Telus and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Korea.
Telus International's original announcement in May 2006 to launch the Blackberry in Korea with KT Powertel.
vunet covered negotiations in December 2006 between Research in Motion and SK Telecom to bring the Blackberry to Korea. It also mentioned at that time that KT Powertel only signed up 2,000 subscribers for the Blackberry.
KT made an announcement in June 2007 to develop a phone to use Qualcomm's BREW middleware platform to compete with WIPI.
LG Telecom also recently announced plans to create an open platform for their mobile phone network:
The company's CEO Jung Il-jae made it clear that the firm's priority for next year will be the open mobile Internet business. Its main strategy is to open its phone platform, enabling any Internet or software company to freely make and sell mobile Internet services ― like any software programmers can make and sell computer programs that run on Microsoft's Windows operating system for PCs.
