Shinsegi Telecomm Inc. is open for CDMA business in South Korea. AirTouch Communications Inc., 11 percent owner and lead technical partner in Shinsegi, said the cellular venture launched Code Division Multiple Access service commercially April 1, in the Seoul and Taejon regions of South Korea, which include about 24 cities and 45 percent of the Korean population.
Shinsegi is the second operator to go live with CDMA. Korea Mobile Telecommunications Corp., a privately owned company and spinoff of the Korea Telecommunications Authority, introduced service earlier this year.
Out of the gates, Shinsegi’s CDMA network includes 149 base stations and 2 switching centers, AirTouch said. By the end of 1996 service is expected to reach six more regions of South Korea, including Pusan, Taegu and Kwangju. Also by year’s end, 350 base stations and 6 switching centers will be operative on Shinsegi’s network, said AirTouch.
Shinsegi is launching a much bigger digital system than KMT, said AirTouch International spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg. KMT wasn’t available for comment on its CDMA subscriber figures.
The Korean Ministry of Information and Communication required the digital cellular providers to use Korean-made equipment and have service available Jan. 1, said Rosenberg. The infrastructure provider Shinsegi contracted, Samsung Electronics Co., experienced equipment delays, so the government granted Shinsegi a six-month extension to begin operations.
Pohang Iron & Steel Co. of Korea and Korean textile manufacturer Kolon each hold about 15 percent interest in Shinsegi. SBC Communications Inc. holds about 8 percent and Qualcomm Inc. has about 2 percent ownership in the venture. Remaining shares are held by various Korean companies.
KMT also operates an analog network which claims about 1.8 million subscribers, or 4 percent penetration.
