South Korea has one of the most vibrant telecommunications industries in the world. Its broadband market, in particular, has witnessed astonishing growth in the past five years and leads the world in deployment and user penetration. The number of Korean broadband subscribers rose from less than 14,000 in 1998 to over 10 million in 2002. As of October 2002, 60% of Korean households with internet access are wired to broadband network. In comparison, only about 10% of US households are wired to broadband network. Industry observers credit the growth of the South Korean broadband industry to a combination of factors including aggressive government policy, deregulated market, fierce private sector competition, geographical density and a young, tech savvy population.
In 1998, the South Korean government launched the Korean Information Infrastructure Initiative, outlined in the Framework Act on Informatization Promotion of 1995. Two of the main objectives of the Initiative were to make broadband accessible and affordable to all Koreans. The government mandated that operators provide 2Mb/s connection for all citizens and subsidized infrastructure developments. It spent $1.5 billion on backbone network and provided $1 billion in loans to ensure that companies took broadband to rural areas. Today, South Korea's 144 provincial cities, 190 provincial towns, 619 sub-county areas, and all primary and secondary schools are connected by a super high-speed Internet network. Once access was established, the government deregulated the market to encourage competition among the providers. The end result is that broadband service has a low marginal cost compared to narrowband service, making it affordable to majority of Koreans.
In addition to infrastructural developments, the government established a wide range of programs to complement its primary initiatives. They include integration of broadband technology in all primary and secondary school education, IT training for 10 million people for skills necessary to use the Internet, funding for low income households to obtain computers, and broadband ratings certification for developers and construction companies to encourage them to introduce the latest broadband technology into newly constructed apartments and office buildings.
Today, primary and secondary school teachers have websites and students submit homework via the Internet, housewives shop and exchange information online, young adults meet at "PC Baangs" to video chat and play online game tournaments. The success of the South Korean broadband industry is a result of combined efforts by the government, the private sector and the Korean citizenry. The government, however, assumed the leading role in initiating and stimulating the growth of the industry.
http://www.anr.org/web/html/output/2002/bbasia522.pdf
http://www.mic.go.kr/eng/jsp/main.jsp
http://www.hankooki.com/kt_tech/200203/t2002031318380145110.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2319879.stm
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.08/korea_pr.html
