Press Release

Hyundai to Supply IS-95C System Equipment to Korea Telecom Freetel

By September 7, 2000 December 7th, 2020 No Comments
– Hyundai Electronics announced yesterday that it will supply Korea Telecom Freetel (KT Freetel) with Interim Standard (IS)-95C system equipment, a next-generation mobile telecommunications service that supports data transmission at 144Kbps.

Seoul, Korea, September 7, 2000 – Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd. announced yesterday that it will supply Korea Telecom Freetel (KT Freetel) with Interim Standard (IS)-95C system equipment, a next-generation mobile telecommunications service that supports data transmission at 144Kbps. According to the terms of the contract, the equipment that Hyundai will deliver to KT Freetel is valued at 120 billion won (US$ 110 million) and will include switches, base stations, cell controllers, and a high-speed packet data network. A Hyundai spokesperson said that the IS-95C system is based on Hyundai’s world-class Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology, and is able to support data transmission at speeds of up to 153.6Kbps. The system is backward-compatible with cellular and Personal Communications Service (PCS) systems currently in use, and is designed to minimize core modules so as to facilitate easy migration to the IMT-2000 system. Thus, the capacity and volume of the IS-95C system is expected to maximize the cost effectiveness of the overall mobile telecommunications service. KT Freetel will start its IS-95C service in Korean metropolitan areas and major cities this October, and expects to have a nationwide system network established in Korea by next year. In preparation for the launch of commercial service, KT Freetel successfully completed operational testing of a trial IS-95C system at its research center on September 1 of this year. IS-95C is an epoch-making technology that is capable of providing mobile service at Mbyte speeds for the next-generation multimedia contents of applications such as games, graphics, and moving pictures. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has recognized IS-95C as a major technology for IMT-2000, the next-generation mobile service. The contract with KT Freetel secures Hyundai’s position in the IS-95C systems equipment and handset market. The Korean portion of that market is projected to ultimately grow to trillions of won (billions of US dollars). Thus, Hyundai is expected to also capture the leadership position among equipment suppliers for IMT-2000. In addition, Hyundai will actively explore overseas telecommunications markets (such as China, Southeast Asia, and the Americas) for its advanced technologies, including IS-95C system, Internet Protocol (IP)-Based Network, Wireless IP, and others.