SK Telecom’s CEO Holds a Press Conference at MWC 2012
- Plans to launch an RCS service in 2012 to become the second in the world, along with France and Germany, to commercialize RCS
- Plans to lead the standardization of NFC to create a basis for the development of innovative NFC services that deliver greater convenience and value for customers
- Aims to secure new growth engines and further solidify its market leadership based on synergies and cooperation with SK Planet and Hynix Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
Hong Kong, 28 February 2012 – SK Telecom’s President and CEO Ha Sung-Min held a press conference on February 27 at MWC 2012 held in Barcelona, Spain.
Below are the excerpts from the press conference.
■ Current Business Environment
Many kinds of devices including smartphones, tablet PC, smart TV and automobiles are becoming increasingly connected via mobile networks that lead to the provision of innovative applications, services and experiences across all sectors. Mobile carriers are facing intensified competition in the marketplace as the advancement of ICT is blurring boundaries between industries and companies. Against this backdrop, SK Telecom is determined to concentrate all its energy and capability to offer the best speed and quality, thus creating an opportunity to make another leap forward.
■ SK Telecom’s Leading Technologies
RCS
At MWC 2012, GSMA launched an RCS brand named ‘Joyn’ to provide a guide for GSMA members to develop and launch RCS services under the same brand. Korea is planning to launch an RCS service in 2012 to become the second in the world, along with France and Germany, to commercialize RCS.
Recognizing the grave importance of RCS, major GSMA members including SK Telecom made full-fledged efforts to promote standardization and commercialization of RCS since 2008. SK Telecom was also the only Korean company among the 11 global companies that took part in the RCS Initiative, which was launched in 2008, and is also the only Asian company to join the Leadership Team, the highest organization in the GSMA’s RCS Project. (The other members of the Leadership Team are Telefonica, Vodafone, DT, Orange and Telecom Italia)
NFC
SK Telecom has been serving as a member of the GSMA NFC Steering Committee since 2011 and is currently leading the China-Japan-Korea NFC Consortium. The company is actively working with GSMA Board Members in Japan (Softbank, KDDI) and China (China Mobile, China Unicom) on the issue of building an integrated NFC infrastructure across the three countries. Looking forward, SK Telecom, SK Planet and Hynix will play their unique roles and at the same time generate synergies: SK Telecom will lead standardization of NFC; SK Planet will offer NFC-based platform and services, and Hynix will produces NFC chips.
■ Synergies with Hynix Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
On February 14, SK Telecom bought a 21 percent controlling stake in Hynix Semiconductor, the world’s second largest memory chipmaker. The company will take this as a chance to diversify its business, develop global business opportunities and secure future growth engines that would lead to heightened corporate value.
SK Telecom will work closely with global telecommunications companies to promote standardization of hardware, software and services, thus contributing to the growth of the system semiconductor industry. It also plans to leverage its accumulated experience, knowhow as well as strong business relationships to strengthen marketing capabilities of Hynix.
Under strong cooperation with SK Telecom, Hynix plans to expand its R&D efforts to strengthen its system semiconductor business, which is currently in its initial stage of development, in the mid-to long-term.
■ SK Telecom’s Future as a Total IT Company
With successful spin-off of SK Planet and acquisition of Hynix, SK Telecom is not set to become a total IT company supported by its unrivalled strength in networks; SK Planet’s innovative platforms and vast contents; and Hynix’s expertise in semiconductors.
About SK Telecom
SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM, KSE: 017670), established in 1984, is Korea’s leading telecommunications provider with more than 26 million subscribers, which accounts for more than 50% of the total market. The company reached KRW 15.945 trillion in revenue in 2011. SK Telecom was the first to launch and commercialize CDMA, CDMA 2000 1x, CDMA EV-DO and HSDPA networks, and it currently provides cellular, wireless internet, mobile media, global roaming service and more. For more information, please visit www.sktelecom.com or email to press@sktelecom.com.
Media Contact:
Irene Kim
SK Telecom Co. Ltd.
(822) 6100-3834
gahaekim@sk.com
Winnie Pang
Hill+Knowlton Strategies
852 2894 6233
winnie.pang@hkstrategies.com
