STOCKHOLM, Sweden-L.M. Ericsson has won a contract with Korea Telecom to provide the first phase of a mobile data network based on Mobitex technology.
Korea Telecom, a government-run telecommunications company, intends to launch its wireless data service early in 1996, initially in the Seoul metropolitan area. The network will be expanded nationwide in the future, Korea Telecom leaders said.
Mobitex is a fully digital, packet-switched mobile data open network architecture. It was developed by Ericsson and Swedish Telecom. The system is similar to cellular phone systems in that the coverage area is divided into cells, each covered by a base station that transmits data and text messages. Users can access the network from a variety of mobile terminals and wireless modems. Because it uses an open architecture, standard wireless applications can be easily developed, said Jim Hobbs, president of the Mobitex Operators Association and vice president of BellSouth Mobile Data. BellSouth provides Mobitex service in Australia.
“Mobitex networks are ideal for a wide variety of mobile data applications, including public safety, fleet dispatch and transportation, sales force automation and wireless electronic mail,” Hobbs said.
The commitment to build a mobile data network in Korea is an important step in establishing Mobitex as a mobile data standard in Asia, Ericsson said.
