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Aiming to hook up every home to the `Net`
Seoul, Nov 08: Aiming to hook up every household to the Internet, South Korea unveiled plans on Wednesday for telecom companies to invest $10.9 billion in high-speed broadband networks by 2005.
Seoul, Nov 08: Aiming to hook up every household to the Internet, South Korea unveiled plans on Wednesday for telecom companies to invest $10.9 billion in high-speed broadband networks by 2005.
South Korea, already the most wired country in the world with 10 million high-speed Internet connections in its population of 48 million, said all households will be able to get fast-speed Internet access by 2005.
The Ministry of Information and Communication said it will boost that number by 35 percent to 13.5 million households.
Internet-savvy Koreans spend more time in front of computers than watching television, clicking the mouse to trade shares, order pizza, buy clothes or even consult a doctor.
"I log onto the Internet about two to three hours almost every day to play online games," said Hwang Hwa-sun, 23, a worker at Korea Securities Depository, adding his family also uses it.
"I also like to use the Internet for shopping cosmetics and clothes. My sister reads newspapers from the internet, while my father uses it to play a Korean card game," she said.
Helped by the rapid spread of the Internet, online stock trading accounts for 65 percent of total turnover on the Korea Stock Exchange, ministry data showed. That compares with only 3.8 percent in Japan and 7.6 percent in Taiwan.
KT Corp 30200.KS , South Korea's largest telecom company, and other Internet service providers (ISPs), will fund the new planned investment, which includes $210 billion in government loans, through 2005, the ministry said.
Bureau Report
South Korea, already the most wired country in the world with 10 million high-speed Internet connections in its population of 48 million, said all households will be able to get fast-speed Internet access by 2005.
The Ministry of Information and Communication said it will boost that number by 35 percent to 13.5 million households.
Internet-savvy Koreans spend more time in front of computers than watching television, clicking the mouse to trade shares, order pizza, buy clothes or even consult a doctor.
"I log onto the Internet about two to three hours almost every day to play online games," said Hwang Hwa-sun, 23, a worker at Korea Securities Depository, adding his family also uses it.
"I also like to use the Internet for shopping cosmetics and clothes. My sister reads newspapers from the internet, while my father uses it to play a Korean card game," she said.
Helped by the rapid spread of the Internet, online stock trading accounts for 65 percent of total turnover on the Korea Stock Exchange, ministry data showed. That compares with only 3.8 percent in Japan and 7.6 percent in Taiwan.
KT Corp 30200.KS , South Korea's largest telecom company, and other Internet service providers (ISPs), will fund the new planned investment, which includes $210 billion in government loans, through 2005, the ministry said.
Bureau Report