By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff Reporter



Dacom Corp. CEO Jung Hong-shik, left, and Information-Communication Minister Chin Dae-je, second from left, try out high-speed Broadband convergence Network (BcN)-based video phone service at the Unpyong Culture and Art Center in northwestern Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

People will be able to download a two-hour high-definition movie in a minute thanks to the super-fast Broadband convergence Network (BcN).
A BcN consortium, headed by the country’s third-largest fixed-line telecom operator Dacom, yesterday started a pilot run of the next-generation network in 350 households in Seoul, Ulsan and Puchon in Kyonggi Province.

The BcN integrates traditionally separated telecom, Internet and broadcasting pipelines into a converged network while seamlessly switching over to a wired or wireless connection.

It promises a speed of 100 megabits per second (Mbps), about 50 times faster than current broadband norm of 2 Mbps provided to 11 million of the country’s total 15.5 million homes.

``BcN subscribers will be able to download a two-hour HD movie in a minute, compared to about an hour needed under the current Internet connectivity,’’ Dacom director Lee Deuk-joo said.

Thanks to its ultra-fast data transmission speed, BcN is regarded as a harbinger heralding a host of futuristic features like voice over Internet protocol, T-commerce, IP-TV and video on demands.

Another attraction of BcN is its price competitiveness.

``Because BcN mixes all conventional lines into a single network, it will save subscribers substantial amounts of money in comparison to today’s users who have to pay charges for telephone, TV and the Internet separately,’’ Lee said.

In recognition of its huge potential, the country’s telecom juggernauts have launched all-out efforts to jump onto the BcN bandwagon.

In addition to the Dacom consortium, another three organizations led by KT, SK Telecom and cable TV operators, gained licenses for the test run of the BcN.

To help the early take-off of the BcN project, the government plans to spend 1.2 trillion won through 2010 while encouraging an 800 billion won investment from the private sector over the cited period.

The Ministry of Information and Communication expects the BcN will become a mainstream connection technology to the Internet by attracting 20 million customers in 2010.

The ministry also forecasts the homegrown scheme will be the goose that lays the golden egg by inducing 111 trillion won-worth equipment production and exports of $50.8 billion by 2010.

voc200@koreatimes.co.kr