LG Uplus Wipes Away Tears of SMEs Amid 'Semiconductor Supply Crisis'

LG Uplus, Win-Win Plan for IoT Small Businesses
Priority Supply of 1 Million Communication Modules
Collaboration on Technology Development, Commercialization, and Education
Creating 'True Fans' up to SME Partners

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Cha] #. Small and medium-sized telecommunications equipment company A, with less than 10 years of business experience and supplying to large corporations, is facing difficulties in securing communication terminals (routers) after COVID-19. While deliveries from overseas manufacturers were delayed by 2 to 3 weeks last year, this year the delay has extended to over 30 weeks. Due to parts shortages caused by supply deficits, the average transaction price has surged about 40% compared to pre-COVID-19 levels, putting management under strain.

Emergency Supply of 1 Million Communication Modules

On the 27th, LG Uplus announced that it will prioritize supplying 1 million communication modules to domestic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Internet of Things (IoT) sector, which have been hit hard by the semiconductor supply crisis. The company aims to unblock the stagnant wireless business-to-business (B2B) market by supporting communication modules. Along with this, LG Uplus plans to make various win-win collaborations ranging from technology development, commercialization, to education, turning SME partners into strong allies.

LG Uplus’s five major win-win measures include ▲communication module support ▲technical support ▲commercialization support ▲idea discovery support ▲information exchange support. First, it will provide 1 million low-power wide-area (LPWA) communication modules, secured in advance, to domestic IoT device and solution SMEs affected by the global semiconductor supply crisis at pre-COVID-19 prices. This will help manufacturers produce and sell communication components in a timely manner.

Although the sudden semiconductor shortage after COVID-19 has caused damage, the IoT industry remains a core market in the hyper-connected era. According to the Korea Information and Communication Planning and Evaluation Institute, the domestic IoT market size is expected to expand from 16 trillion won this year to 37 trillion won by 2025, with an average annual growth rate of 22.8% from 2020 to 2025.

Technical and Educational Support... Providing IoT Development Packages

Technical support will also be provided for partner businesses. To help them enter new IoT fields such as 5G services or high-precision positioning services (RTK), LG Uplus will provide development communication modules, terminals (routers), antennas, and other equipment necessary for initial service development free of charge in a package form. To facilitate the essential ‘carrier certification’ before commercialization after terminal production, an ‘IoT Network Certification Dedicated Digital Transformation (DX) Platform’ will also be developed and provided.

LG Uplus will support the commercialization of IoT devices and solutions developed by partners. In particular, it plans to share wireless communication-related patents held by both partners and LG Uplus. Partner terminals and solutions recognized for business viability domestically will be assisted in entering overseas markets. LG Uplus will support domestic IoT partners’ overseas expansion through consultations with its telecommunications partners in the U.S., China, Japan, and Europe. An idea contest will also be held, providing up to 250 million won in development funds to companies proposing excellent ideas. Completed terminals and solutions will be jointly commercialized with LG Uplus.

A ‘Partner Portal’ site, where small and medium-sized partners can easily share information, has also been launched. Partners can collect various IoT-related information such as comparisons of communication service plans, certification module comparisons, quality verification, and certification process guidance. Additionally, from next month, LG Uplus plans to regularly operate the ‘U+ Partners Academy,’ which invites partner developers to provide technical, practical, and certification training.

Im Janghyuk, head of LG Uplus’s Enterprise Infrastructure Business Group, emphasized, "Through close cooperation with partners, we will target the new B2B wireless communication market and build a domestic ecosystem. We will not only secure numerous successful models through synergy with small and medium-sized businesses but also continue efforts to make partners true fans of LG Uplus."

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