On the sidelines of ConnecTechAsia 2019, KT SAT organized a brown bag meeting for the press in the presence of key executives at the company who explained more about KT SAT and its plans in terms of expansion and 5G technology.
The president and CEO of KT SAT, Dr. Wan-Sic Hahn, gave an introduction about the company’s history and how it spun off from KT Corp. in 2012. He highlighted KT SAT’s expansion which started with the launch of two new satellites, KOREASAT 7 and KOREASAT 5A in 2017. That was when the KT SAT’s satellite coverage expanded to Southeast and Southwest Asia, including the Philippines and Indonesia. Customer base has also widened since then to Mongolia, Myanmar, Thailand and Afghanistan.
Sy Paik, senior vice president, COO and CSO at KT SAT then explained more about KT Group’s diverse ecosystem of satellite-related fields, including communications, broadcasting, information technology and finance. He highlighted KT Group’s experience in the broadcasting service through KT SKYLIFE which allows it to provide transponder capacity lease services to DTH operators in the Philippines and Mongolia, as well as differentiated value through consulting and contents package suggestions for emerging DTH operators.
Moving to 5G, Sy Paik emphasized that Korea was the first to launch commercial 5G in April 2019 and in June, the number of subscribers to 5G has already reached 1 million.
“When 5G mobile communication is connected with satellite communication, KT SAT expects more diverse 5G services to become possible. Currently, KT SAT is studying connectivity technology and compatibility between satellites and 5G mobile networks in collaboration with our mother company. We’re also coordinating technology development with satellite equipment manufacturers supporting 5G,” he said.
In this framework, since 2018, KT SAT has been participating “Horizon 2020” which is a research and innovation program of the European Union and Korea. This project aims at defining the system concept of ensuring service coverage and connectivity between satellite and 5G.
Sy Paik also added that KT is working to provide real time 5G 8K video service for the 2021 French Open Tennis tournament, by connecting the 5G network in South Korea and transmit it to Europe through the satellite.
He also pinpointed the importance of satellite-based Quantum Key Distribution. “The quantum technology is the ultimate solution to protect the cyber space. So, we’re seriously approaching quantum technology, step by step. One of the suggested ideas is to distribute quantum key through the fiber network, but there are some limitations related to the distance. However, satellites don’t have such limitations. That’s why we’re focusing on the quantum key distribution through the satellite.
“However, it can be difficult, so we chose to collaborate with other players in the industry. We signed an MoU with a global leading startup company for technological cooperation in satellite-based QKD communication. Our aim to launch the service in 2025.”
KT is also considering Blockchain technology so KT SAT is preparing to install “GiGAstealth”, KT’s blockchain-based security solution, in CCTV service on ships as one of the value added service of MVSAT. This solutions hides the IP addresses of IoT terminals to users with unverified identities. CCTV cameras on most ships use public IP addresses and when the address is exposed, they become vulnerable to hackers. GiGAstealth works on maximizing the security by hiding the IP addresses of CCTV cameras.
As for KT SAT’s vision for the future, Sy Paik said “To be a global market leader in the 4th industrial revolution, we’ll continue to develop differentiating solutions to our customers while also focusing on the traditional services.”
