Love Letter from the World

Staff of Spain’s top mobile telephony company Telefonica Madrid show the SK Telecom-designed robot Atti to children.
Staff of Spain’s top mobile telephony company Telefonica Madrid show the SK Telecom-designed robot Atti to children.

 

Korean telecommunications companies are enjoying the fruits of global success in the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2014 at Barcelona, Spain. SK Telecom is working on finalizing sales for the Smart Beam and “Smart” robot Attie to Europe, and KT has signed an agreement to export 65 units of its NFC-enabled Media Pole.

SK Telecom announced on February 24 that talks are underway with a number of companies to export some 30,000 units of the Smart Beam this year. The company is on the final stage for the sale of ultra-mini projector Smart Beam to various companies in France, Spain, and China. 

Things look bright for SK Telecom’s Atti, a robot that works with a smart app installed as an artificial intelligence. It has been well-received at the Talentum School run by SK Telecom’s strategic partner and Spain’s top telecommunications company Telefinia Madrid, with huge interest from parents of schoolchildren, in particular.  SK Telecom plans to further promote Atti throughout Europe, starting with Innorobo 2014, Europe’s biggest robot showcase which will be held in March in Lyon, France. Atti is an educational robot designed to teach children by providing smart app-enabled songs and audio books.  

So far the results are promising. Smart Beam sold 8,000 units to 7 countries including Germany, Japan, and France in 2013. This year it has sold an additional 5,000 units to Brazil. Atti has also closed a deal to deliver 500 units to Spain and 1,000 to France. 
 
SK Telecom in this year’s MWC has set its ambitions high, and geared up for the global market with products such as Smart Coin, a device used for child safety, and Smartband, a device for health care and music box applications.  

KT has signed an agreement with the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), an organization of global mobile operators and related companies, to ship 65 units of an NFC-enabled digital signage device called the Media Pole, which was on display at GSMA’s showroom The Connected City.  The Media Pole is a device that allows NFC-enabled smartphone users to touch and access data stored on the device such as the show’s schedule and ticket information.

KT has plans to install Media Poles in not only exhibits and trade shows but airports, train stations, and department stores.  Its agreement with GSMA is proposed for multiple years, allowing further development of business models.  It is a particularly feasible solution for a mobile-based personal identification service, as it allows automatic validation of those using NFC-enabled smartphones, and eliminates the cumbersome process of presenting other identification. Nam Kyu-taek, vice president of KT’s Marketing Division, said, “The sale of Media Poles, its showcase as the official kiosk for the MWC, is evidence that shows our strength in IT service solutions.” He then added, “We plan to provide a new, convenient method of information searching to people attending various trade shows around the world.”

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