Hwang Chang-gyu, the chairman of telecom giant KT, said Tuesday that ongoing innovation in network technology, or so-called “intelligent networks,” will lead to a paradigm shift in industries overall and bring a greater change in lifestyles than today’s mobile-focused networks.

In a speech delivered at Harvard, the chairman said intelligent networks would create new value and new business opportunities, not just because of its speed but also because of its enhanced connectivity and capacity.


In 2020, the speed of network services will be 10 times faster than today and the level of network services will be improved by 10 times, he said. Future networks will even be able to map out the spread of diseases to effectively contain the spread of viruses, he added.

The engineer-turned-chairman was giving the speech for the second time at Harvard, the company said.

“Eleven years ago, I spoke about the coming of (the) mobile era (and) every part of it has become reality,” he said in a speech delivered in English.

“I am most definite that this future will bring a broader and greater change to our world than the mobile era.”

Discussing how KT has contributed to South Korea’s growth into an information technology powerhouse, Hwang presented the company’s future growth strategy: “GiGAtopia.”

GiGAtopia is a combination of the words gigabit and utopia and refers to a connected world with gigabit networks.

In 2014, KT launched Giga Wire technology, which is three times faster than the long-term evolution advanced network. The company believes that the technology will further boost the speed of networks enough to exhibit holographic images and 3-D interfaces. It would also bring about the era of connected cars, he said.

Since taking the helm of the telecom firm in 2014, Hwang has focused on increasing business efficiency and diversifying the firm’s business portfolio. The CEO, who led semiconductor business at Samsung from 2004 to 2008, has also emphasized the importance of making forays into global markets to overcome challenges stemming from the saturated domestic telecom market.

Hwang was giving the speech on the invitation of Harvard University. KT’s GiGAtopia strategy will be added to a series of case studies published by the school, the company said.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)