Sk C&c To Facilitate Reliance 3g Roll Out

[Arun 795]

Business Wire India

Thursday, October 01, 2009 11:42 AM IST (06:12 AM GMT)

SK C&C India (CEO Kim Shin Bae, www.skcc.com), an affiliate company of SK Group, a Fortune 100 conglomerate, and Reliance Communications has entered into a partnership agreement on September 22nd 2009 with Reliance Communication (RCOM) to facilitate the roll-out of network and services on next generation 3G/4G platform.

Reliance will utilize the knowledge and expertise of SK C&C, a systems service provider to SK Telecom, to build IP backbone network to process voice communication and data and develop plans to optimize the design of base stations for efficient linkage. Under this agreement, Reliance will gain to know-how and knowledge of the “best practice” at SK Telecom to enhance the quality of its services by building a high-capacity, integrated (wireless and wire line) and convergent (voice, data and video) digital network for 3G Network and WiMax.

Founded in 1953, SK Group is the third largest conglomerate in Korea with diverse interests in Information and Communication, Energy and Trading and Engineering sectors. SK Telecom is regarded among the top MNOs in the world in terms of advanced technology and services that it offers to its customers. SK Telecom, with a 50% plus market share in Korea and SK C&C became the first in the world to succeed in commercializing CDMA and in 2002, and tie first in the world to deploy 3G services based on CDMA. Recently it also introduced a much more advanced version of mobile telemetric services where mobile communication is combined into automobiles to provide road guidance services, location tracking as well as remote car checkup and control services, mobile linked entertainment service.

Commenting on the signing of this agreement, Mr. Manish Prakash, Head of International Business at SK C&C (Korea) commented “At SK we are excited about this partnership with Reliance ADA Group and looking to build a deeper relationship for a wide range of cooperation in areas of technology and operations in the 3G environment. This agreement is a significant step in that direction.” Senior executives at Reliance are highly optimistic of the new partnership and believe that it shall be the stepping stone to a long standing relationship.

A new world of communication will unfold where mobile phone users will be able to chat with their friends in remote places while looking at their faces, and also watch movies, music videos, and use the Internet to transfer money through mobile banking service. 3G mobile communication uses 2 giga hertz waves with transmission speed ranging from 128Kbps to 2Mbps enabling the users to exchange moving pictures. Mobile phone users, who had only been able to talk on the phone, will be able to see the faces of the ones they talk to. Also, various video contents in color such as music video, Internet broadcasting, comics, and news will be provided in real time.

About SK C&C and SK Group

SK C&C, an affiliate of SK Group recording $1billion sales last year, is a total IT service company providing consulting services, system installation, IT outsourcing and future Ubiquitous technologies and services. SK Group (FY’08 Revenue: $83.5 billion), a Fortune 100 conglomerate, is engaged in a wide range of business areas including IT, mobile communication, energy, engineering and chemical.

In particular, SK Group, which ranks number 3 in the business world in Korea, shows very similar growth path as that of Reliance Group. SK Group was founded in 1953 under the name of Sunkyong Textile Limited and expanded business to petrochemical, refined oil and gas, completing the vertical integration and in 1994 jumped into mobile telecommunication, communication, bioscience, and entertainment business areas.

In 2007, SK C&C established its subsidiary, SK C&C India, to pursue development of various telecommunication VAS models based on advanced mobile communication services. Its mission will also include exploring global markets such as in US and Europe through collaborating with IT services companies in India in the mobile communication and outsourcing sector.

[KumaarShah 143]

Ah!!!! some good news at long last from RCOM... But AFAIK, SK Telecom is a CDMA player, so this means the association is for CDMA or is it for GSM also? I am not aware if SK Telecom is a GSM player also. And if this is for CDMA alone, then it also means that RCOM will offer EVDO/3G, which sometime back (if I am not wrong), they were not very gung-ho on going ahead with 3G in CDMA.