The islands scattered around the Korean Peninsula are to become "smarter," as a corporation here aims to improve the Internet connections available in outlying regions.

KT, one of the nation's larger telecommunications companies, recently launched a project to bring some regional balance to Internet connections across the nation. The core of the project is to provide communication services at faster speeds with its "GiGA Internet network." With its launch, data services became available at ten times the current high-speed rated offered in most offices and homes across the country. Such higher-speed Internet allows data transfers at up to 100 megabits per second. Technically, some 120 megabytes of data could be downloaded in one second. To put it another way, you could download a film, about 2 gigabytes, in about 20 seconds.

Such a GiGA Internet network has already been installed on Imjado Island in Sinan-gun County, Jeollanam-do (South Jeolla Province), and in Daeseong-dong in Paju City, Gyeonggi-do (Gyeonggi Province).

On March 17, Baengnyeongdo Island became the third island to benefit from the project. The island is about 228 kilometers from Incheon Port, four hours by ferry. With the implementation of the new "GiGA Story" project, island residents can now enjoy a big change in their quality of life across a variety of fields, including medical services, education and transportation.


To begin the project, some 100 smart watches were distributed to Baengnyeongdo Island residents, mostly to elderly and to other vulnerable segments of society. The watches are designed to deliver information to nearby public healthcare centers about the watch wearer's heartbeat and their quantity of motion. Information is sent every five minutes. If the data show any unusual signs, the health center can directly send the results to a larger medical center or to relatives of the patient. Also, KT provided some diabetes-detecting equipment, too, to help residents take care of their health.


Secondly, KT installed high-definition CCTVs as part of its efforts to enhance security across the region. For many the seasonal fishermen, who come to shore during the winter, it was one of their biggest concerns leaving their boats and equipment behind on the island. Now, the "Smart CCTVs" offer them some comfort. They have a clear view of the port through a homepage or a smartphone at anytime, from any place.

Finally, island residents will now never be disconnected from the mainland, even if the physical communications equipment is destroyed, such as the optical cables or the microwave towers. This is made possible by the satellite broadband Long Term Evolution (LTE) technologies that KT has brought out for the first time anywhere in the world. With this technology, the central offices of Incheon City are allowed to check some 26 evacuation centers on Baengnyeongdo Island during any emergency situation. In addition, KT supplied LED-based walkie-talkies, called RADGER1s, in every single evacuation center on the island. They allow for more than 1,000 machines to communicate at the same time.

KT plans to install its GiGA Internet network on some 500 inhabited islands across Korea over the next five years, making them more hospitable and comfortable places.


By Lee Seung-ah
Photos: KT
Korea.net Staff Writer
slee27@korea.kr