Korean network operator KT Corp. has become the first in the world to install Long-Term Evolution network service in office surroundings to pave the way for smoother and safer communication.

The service allows employees and customers to utilize the intranet of a firm through mobile devices in a secure manner, as it is operated separately from existing LTE networks used for noncorporate mobile subscribers.

Businesses can choose to make the service available nationwide or only in designated workplaces.

KT said this service -- called LTE service for enterprise -- will serve as an ideal mobile office for companies in a range of sectors including logistics, retail, sales and finance.

“This particular LTE service tailored to companies will help improve the mobile network environment at workplace and reduce costs stemming from network services for companies,” said Lee Moon-hwan, executive vice president of KT, at a press conference in Seoul on Tuesday.

The base amount of monthly mobile data of the pay-per-use service is 300 gigabytes. The base prices of mobile data for enterprises are around 90 percent cheaper than those for individual LTE subscribers, which KT said would help ease the financial burden of its corporate clients.

Shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries and steelmaker POSCO recently deployed KT’s LTE service for enterprise to make communication among workers more efficient. They were able to reduce communication costs by up to 40 percent, according to KT.

The mobile network operator said it would beef up its businesses for enterprise in the coming years.

By 2018, it plans to increase the number of corporate customers for the new LTE service to 1,000.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)