Striving to keep its IT lead, Seoul appears anxious to create a nation of gadget freaks -- In today�s South Korea, everyone from government agencies to telecommmunications carriers to equipment vendors is chanting in unison what may well be the new national mantra: �anytime, anywhere, and on any device.� The word ubiquitous has become just that. Creating a �u-Korea� is the goal in Seoul�s aggressive push to stay in the global vanguard of information and communications technology. Behind this government-led drive is a deep-seated fear that South Korea�s IT boom will slow as the country nears saturation. Already, South Korea counts 35 million mobile subscribers out of a total population of only 47 million. Broadband penetration is the highest in the world, with 12 million high-speed Internet subscribers. �Korea has entered into a mature period characterized by slow growth,� said Yong-Kyung Lee, president and CEO of telecom operator KT, in a keynote address delivered at the u-Korea Vision Conference 2005 on Wednesday. Working in close coordination with carriers and major vendors like Samsung and LG, government agencies like the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) and the National Computerization Agency (NCA) are pushing hard to move the ICT sector into new growth areas.
As an independent advisory consultant, I've observed the rapid evolution of connectivity solutions in manufacturing. The recent survey by ABI Research highlights a significant shift towards private cellular networks, an emerging era in industrial digitization. The manufacturing sector is already undergoing a transformation, driven by the need for enhanced operational efficiency, reliability, and scalability. Wireless technology is an enabler. Private cellular networks, particularly 4G and 5G technologies, are at the forefront of this change, reshaping the connectivity landscape in factories and production facilities. Private Cellular Network Market Development The latest worldwide ABI Research survey provides compelling evidence of this trend. The study, which encompassed manufacturer decision-makers reveals some striking stats: 44 percent are already in the early stages of deploying 4G private networks. An impressive 75 percent of manufacturers are considering 5G implementation. 4...