KT Accelerates 'Korean New Deal' with Public Wi-Fi Deployment

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] KT announced on the 20th that it will promote the ‘2020 Wireless Internet Infrastructure Expansion Project’ to cooperate with the ‘Korean New Deal’ initiative.

The project will be conducted through a mutual investment method between the government and KT, with KT’s investment amounting to approximately 18 billion KRW. In line with the purpose of the Korean New Deal to overcome the economic recession caused by COVID-19, KT plans to rapidly proceed with the project, aiming to complete the construction within this year by consolidating capabilities within the Korean New Deal cooperation TF.

Hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and commissioned by the National Information Society Agency (NIA), this project, in which KT participates, is part of the ‘Digital Safety Net Construction’ policy direction under the Digital New Deal promotion. It involves installing Wi-Fi in 10,000 public places nationwide. The government has been promoting the establishment of public Wi-Fi in public transportation and public places across the country to reduce the burden of household communication expenses and improve information accessibility for digitally marginalized groups.

In particular, to resolve regional digital information gaps, Wi-Fi will also be installed in public places such as island areas, community centers, public health centers, libraries, terminals, and bus stops, which had previously been deprioritized due to investment costs despite high demand. Additionally, since the installation will be based on ‘Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)’, which allows stable use even with many users connected simultaneously, anyone will be able to enjoy comfortable data usage in crowded public places. Furthermore, KT plans to participate in the rural communication network advancement project to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural areas by building high-speed infrastructure in 233 villages alongside the public Wi-Fi installation.

Park Yoon-young, Head of KT’s Korean New Deal Cooperation TF and Corporate Division, said, “KT will contribute to bridging the digital information gap and transforming citizens’ lives by participating in the public Wi-Fi installation and rural communication network advancement projects,” adding, “KT will continue to actively cooperate by mobilizing ICT capabilities for the swift execution of the Korean New Deal.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.