South Korea’s mobile carriers are teaming up with home builders in the arena of Internet of Things services, industry officials said Friday.

KT, the country’s second-largest telecom firm, said it signed a contract with construction project executor Daewon Plus R&D to apply KT’s GiGA IoT Home Plug to 646 studios in a new office building, to be built by 2019 on Incheon’s Yeongjong Island.

Residents will be able to control the entrance door and windows via a smartphone app when away, in addition to operating IoT-connected smart devices at home. 

KT has been collaborating with Daelim E&C and Hanwha E&C to build IoT and artificial intelligence-applied apartments since March.

LG Uplus also announced its cooperation with Hoban Construction on Friday to establish a Home IoT system for Hoban’s apartment brands.

LG will start installing its Home IoT platform in a Hoban Vertium complex of 824 households in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, set for move-ins later this month.

The mobile carrier is also providing an IoT-based air quality detector for apartment residents, which is equipped with five sensors connected via the LG mobile network to detect fine dust and toxic substances.

LG’s Home IoT Platform is compatible with home appliances manufactured by Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, the company said.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)