KT ICOM today announced that it has successfully demonstrated international video phone roaming between IMT-2000 mobile networks in Korea and Japan.

The historic video call was made between Dr. Young-Chu Cho, President and CEO of KT ICOM and Mr. John Thompson, Executive Corporate Officer and CTO of J-Phone in Seoul and Tokyo respectively. The demonstration took place before the audience of Korean media and industrial experts at Convention & Exhibitions Center (COEX) in Seoul. KT ICOM says that the success of this type of roaming is the first achievement of its kind in the world.

The demonstrated items were: (1) Video and voice call from/to roaming J-Phone subscribers in KT ICOM network in Korea, and (2) Video and voice call from/to roaming KT ICOM subscribers in J-Phone network in Japan, and results were clear visual and voice conversation between the two IMT-2000 networks. KT ICOM and J-Phone had been working very closely for the past five months for this project. KT ICOM’s network equipment has been provided by LG Electronics and J-Phone’s network equipment has been provided by Ericsson. LG Electronics has also provided KT ICOM with IMT-2000 mobile phones with video telephony capability for roaming on J-Phone network in Japan. (Please see the attached annex for technical information.)

“This is a start of what IMT-2000 can offer to customers, a differentiated roaming service with extended capabilities”, said Dr. Yeon-Hak Kim, Vice President of Corporate Planning of KT ICOM. “KT ICOM plans to provide international roaming service for not only voice but also video and data roaming capabilities and eventually offering virtual home environment (VHE) as the ultimate roaming service.”

This demonstration is a clear benchmark in the development and deployment of W-CDMA system’s state-of-the-art 3G mobile telecommunications services. Experiences gained from this trial can be used to further enhance and accelerate commercial roaming services. KT ICOM plans to begin the full-scale commercial IMT-2000 service in the first half of next year.

KT ICOM, the IMT-2000 service providing company of KT Corp., was established in March 2001. As a new-born company, KT ICOM has very clear visions: the No. 1 IMT-2000 service provider, the major player to reshape the telecommunications market, and finally the global service provider to lead the IMT-2000 market.

As one of the official telecommunications partners of the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/JapanTM through KT Corp, KT ICOM has been providing IMT-2000 trial services including video phone, video on demand and multi-media messaging services during the World Cup period.

Leveraging the most powerful fixed and wireless telecommunications infrastructures of KT Group, future aspiring vision with renewed determination, and full commitment to its customers for unparalleled service quality and state-of-the-art technology, KT ICOM will begin commercial IMT-2000 service in the first half of 2003.