Fisher Capital Management Latest News: KT, Softbank to set up joint cloud computing venture in Korea

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/techscience/2011/05/30/15/0601000000AEN20110530005500320F.HTML

SEOUL, May 30 (Yonhap) — South Korean telecom titan KT Corp. and Japan’s Softbank Telecom Corp. will set up a joint cloud computing venture in South Korea later this year, the companies said Monday, aiming to tap into demand for reliable Internet storage systems that can protect companies’ data from natural disasters.
KT will hold a 51 percent stake and Softbank will own the remainder in the joint venture, which will be set up by September, they said in a joint press release.
The two telecom companies will open a data center in Gimhae City, near South Korea’s second-largest city, Busan, located close to Japan, to offer services to Japanese companies seeking a reliable data storage center.
KT, which has been stepping up its businesses outside the telecom service sector, plans to offer cloud computing services for corporate customers and consumers in Japan, which is battling power shortages caused by a March earthquake.
As a result of natural disasters in Japan and the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant, Japanese companies will have to cut back their electricity use by 15 percent starting in July as part of the country’s efforts to curve power demand, which will make it harder for those companies to operate their own data centers.
Through the joint venture in South Korea, Softbank aims to secure a stable data network center to store the companies’ data safely during natural disasters and power outages.
“Through the project, we will be able to protect critical corporate systems and data from natural disasters like earthquakes,” Masayoshi Son, Softbank’s chairman, said in the statement.
ylee@yna.co.kr

Fisher Capital Management Korea : S. Korea tops OECD members for wireless Internet penetration

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/techscience/2011/07/05/47/0601000000AEN20110705001900320F.HTML

THUR July 07, 2011

S. Korea tops OECD members for wireless Internet penetration

SEOUL, July 5 (Yonhap) — South Korea ranked first among advanced countries last year in terms of wireless high-speed Internet penetration, according to data by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Tuesday.

South Korea was the leading country for wireless broadband subscriptions last year among the 34 OECD countries, with 89.8 per 100 people. The number of subscribers for high-speed wireless Internet access services reached 45.4 million at the end of last year, according to the data.

Finland came in second with a penetration ratio of 84.8 percent, followed by Sweden with 82.9 percent and Norway with 79.9 percent. The average penetration of wireless Internet access services among the OECD countries was 41.6 percent last year, the data showed.

Overall, wireless broadband subscriptions in OECD countries exceeded half a billion by the end of 2010, an increase of more than 10 percent from six months earlier.

The proliferation of devices such as tablets and smartphones has rapidly driven up demand for wireless broadband and mobile data, experts said.

Meanwhile, South Korea ranked fifth among the OECD countries in terms of fixed broadband subscriptions last year, with 34 out of every 100 residents using the fixed high-speed Internet service, according to the data.

sam@yna.co.kr
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