KT set to launch much-awaited LTE service

South Korea's second-largest mobile carrier KT Corp. said Monday it will launch a much-awaited high-speed long-term evolution technology (LTE) service this week in a bid to better cope with growing competition in the wireless networking market. KT said that it will kick off the LTE service on Tuesday, about one month later than previously expected, to enable users to access wireless data faster than the current third-generation (3G) network. "KT has belatedly launched the LTE service, but our service will better satisfy customers by allowing them to enjoy faster, stable and available services," Lee Suk-chae, KT's chairman and chief executive officer, told reporters. The mobile carrier said it will establish the LTE network in Seoul this month and expand the network to enable around 92 percent out of some 49 million population to access to the high-speed wireless service by April. The company said three smartphones and one tablet computer based on its LTE service will be launched starting this month and additional five devices will be up for the sale in the first half. KT's entry came as a Seoul court on Dec. 26 allowed KT to shut down its second-generation wireless telecommunication service, paving the way for the company to offer the high-speed 4G service. The company's rivals -- SK Telecom Co. and LG Uplus -- began providing the LTE service last year to meet growing demand for data-hungry smartphone users. Some 900 KT 2G users filed for an injunction in a bid to prevent the company from ending the service because they forcefully had to shift into other network services. KT plans to offer the LTE service by using the 1.8-gigahertz (GHz) bandwidth, which has been occupied by its 2G service. Lee said that KT is aiming to attract about 4 million customers for its LTE service by the end of this year.