SEOUL, Korea-SK Telecom has begun commercial service of the first cdma2000 1XRTT wireless data and voice network. 3Com Corp. and Samsung Electronics Company Ltd. supplied the equipment.
In the initial service rollout, SK Telecom introduced the 1XRTT network to subscribers in the Seoul and Inchon regions. By the end of the year, the network is expected to extend to the Daejon and Chungcheong regions.
1XRTT is the evolutionary technology for CDMA networks. The network offers speeds of up to 144 kilobits per second and supports simultaneous audio, video and text data services; implements packet data technology; and doubles wireless channel capacity.
There has been much speculation about whether Korean operators, which all currently offer CDMA service, will evolve to the cdma2000 third-generation (3G) standard or to wideband CDMA.
SK Telecom said it has more than 12 million mobile subscribers.
