WiBro, the wireless broadband platform favored by South Korean operators and vendors, will become a prominent access technology not only for South Korean wireless Internet businesses but also in the global arena. KT and SK Telecom have been aggressively preparing to launch WiBro commercial services early next year. WiBro vendors and operators in South Korea are already making progress faster than the WiMAX camp in terms of specification and market scale. Conventional wisdom previously regarded WiBro as a local specification fulfilling Korean local conditions only, but it is gradually becoming accepted as a potential global specification, especially when WiBro provides interoperability with IEEE 802.16e. WiBro has been expanding its global presence. In July, the Japanese government, accepted WiBro along with mobile WiMAX as a next-generation broadband wireless standard candidate. In the meantime, WiBro with VoIP can offer lots of benefits in terms of economics and fast deployment for global operators. According to ABI Research senior analyst Andy Bae, "With Korean users' high demands for wireless multimedia services via the Internet, and KT's aggressive 'WiBro as Next Growth Engine' plan to compete with SK Telecom-backed HSDPA, WiBro in South Korea will be well-positioned." Nonetheless, terminal vendors should carefully examine users' preferences and market demands for applications, in accordance with service roadmaps.
The global streaming industry has spent the better part of a decade chasing subscriber counts as the primary metric of success. That era is now formally over. New market data from Omdia confirms that the industry has crossed a decisive threshold; one that shifts the competitive playing field from growth-at-all-costs to monetization discipline. For senior executives navigating media, advertising, and technology strategy, the implications extend well beyond entertainment. A Historic Revenue Crossover Online video revenue increased 13.5 percent to $176 billion in 2025, while pay-TV revenue declined 4 percent to $170 billion; marking the first time in the industry's history that streaming has surpassed legacy pay-TV in revenue terms. This is not a rounding error or a statistical artifact; it represents the culmination of more than a decade of structural disruption to the traditional broadcast and cable TV model. Global subscriptions to online video services reached 2.24 billion by the ...