KT’s GiGA Wire using copper line at 1Gbps connects the world, moving beyond Europe

• KT explores overseas markets with 1G copper line telecommunication technology jointly developed with Korean manufacturers
• GiGA Wire solution will participate in the world’s largest exhibition for solutions, the BBWF (Broadband World Forum) 
• KT expects high demand from the European market, where buildings are older and copper lines are used in most wiring systems.

Following MWC 2016 in February, KT will present its 1G copper line telecommunication technology (GiGA Wire) jointly developed with Korean manufacturers at the Broadband World Forum (the BBWF), the world’s largest exhibition for wired telecommunication. Held in London, the annual exhibition is expected to be attended by top management of global telecommunication service providers and greatly impact the next-generation broadband network landscape.

KT attends this year’s BBWF as part of the GiGA Wire Alliance (GWA, www.gigawire-alliance.org), which was formed under KT’s leadership. GWA consists of Korean and overseas companies with the purpose of increasing the availability of GiGA Wire in the world and expanding cooperation to further develop communication technologies. The BBWF provides KT with an opportunity to introduce the GiGA Wire Alliance to global telecommunication service providers, solution manufacturers and chip manufacturers.  

KT will present a variety of copper lines that offer a speed of up to 1 Gbps, (enabled by GiGA Wire for the first time in the world), including a phone line solution, a coaxial cable solution and a UTP LAN solution. The list of solutions KT will demonstrate include a wide range currently in high demand in the global market, such as a solution that provides wireless connection for 4K UHD video to TV through GiGA Wire and a solution that powers GiGA WiFi AP through GiGA Wire.

Of particular interest are the solutions using GiGA Wire 2.0, which will be introduced at the exhibition for the first time. The BBWF will be the world’s first venue where the following solutions will be showcased: a coaxial solution that provides speeds of up to 1.4 Gbps at both ends of a coaxial cable, a GNT+WiFi AP integration solution where equipment on customer premises installed with a WiFi connected terminal offers both wired and wireless connection at the same time, and a power feeding solution that uses only 2 strips of a telephone line to power WiFi AP when the power supply is limited.

Since Europe has a number of ageing buildings and most of its wiring systems consist of copper lines, GiGA Wire is forecast to be in high demand in Europe. The technology is also expected to be highly sought-after in the global B2C and B2B markets.

A pilot project for GiGA Wire has already been conducted in Turkey and Spain and discussions are underway to expand the project in other regions of the world such as Asia and North America.

KT expects this exhibition will provide an opportunity to introduce GiGA Wire and the brand to the world as an excellent and economically-feasible technology.

What is GWA?

GWA forms an ecosystem for GW technologies and is composed of a diverse range of telecommunication service providers (users), equipment manufacturers and chip set manufacturers, to create a virtuous cycle where demand for technology leads to the development of technology, and eventually market expansion. GW technologies are based on G.hn home network technologies and can be flexibly integrated into IoTs inside and outside the home through power lines/coaxial cables/phone lines. They can also be combined in different ways to be used for ‘GiGA WiFi AP integration terminals’, ‘power feeding terminals’, ‘long distance telecommunication solutions for 300m and longer’ and ‘Ethernet compatible terminals’.

List of exhibits: 

 - Phone line solution: a pair of telephone lines (2 strips) that enable downloads of up to 1 Gbps

 - UTP LAN solution: 2 pairs of UTP Category 5 cables (4 strips) that enable downloads of up to 1 Gbps

 - Coaxial solution: offers a speed of up to 1.4 Gbps at both ends of a coaxial cable

 - Dual mode solution: allows choosing either GiGA Wire or Ethernet as the mode of transmission

 - GNT+WiFi AP integration solution: equipment installed on customer premises with a WiFi connected terminal offers both wired and wireless connection at the same time

 - Power Feeding solution: Uses only 2 strips of a telephone line to power WiFi AP when the power supply is limited