By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter


Pusan City Monday announced a plan to build a ``ubiquitous city’’ by applying information technology to civic planning and management.

Ubiquitous refers to the widespread use of communications and information technology.

The municipal government said it will invest 550 billion won ($525 million) in the U-City project from 2006 to 1010 to develop IT infrastructure in harbor facilities, public transportation, convention facilities and public health cars.

The nation’s largest port city will invest an additional 770 billion won from 2008 to develop new services using the enhanced infrastructure in education, medical services, security, tourism and environmental conservation.

It plans to complete the project in 2012.

Pusan believes that the strengthened IT infrastructure will help solidify its status as an international center for marine transport and logistics, further enhancing its competitiveness against other Asian hub cities such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai.

Telecommunication giant KT, Korea’s largest fixed-line telephone and commercial Internet service provider, is expected to head Pusan’s drive for the next-generation city project, following an agreement with the city government signed in March.

The telecom operator will invest 250 billion won through 2010 to advance Pusan’s IT-network infrastructure to introduce next-generation communication services such as portable Internet, high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) and fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband Internet services.

Multinational high-tech companies such as the International Business Machines (IBM), Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Microsoft also will participate in building the U-City.

The project is aimed at building industry-wide partnerships between urban planners, high-tech firms and construction companies to integrate advanced info-tech infrastructure to support the sustainable urban development.

It focuses on creating environments in which residents can enjoy access to high-speed networks and enhanced information services at anytime regardless of location through a ubiquitous computing network.

The government hopes the U-City project will strengthen Korea’s status as an international technology powerhouse and establish itself as a regional cluster and test-bed for world-class companies at home and abroad.

The project is also seen as critical to generating a larger service market for next-generation communication technologies, such as sensor-based computing, radio-frequency identification applications and mobile Internet.

According to a report by KT, the market for U-City development projects will be worth between $15 billion to $22 billion by 2010.

The company expects the U-City project will generate an economic effect of 2.5 trillion won and help Pusan create jobs.

Major cities and provinces have been laying out their own plans to integrate advanced info-tech infrastructure in urban areas.

Seoul has been pushing its Digital Media City project since 1998 to develop its western district of Sangam-dong as a research and development hub for the high-tech industry.

Providing an advanced networking environment is also a part of Inchon’s intentions for New Songdo City, the next-generation city project scheduled for completion in 2014.

Cheju Island has similar plans to develop itself as the country’s next high-tech boomtown, focusing on developing vehicle-based information services and infrastructure.

thkim@koreatimes.co.kr