Following SK Telecom and LG Uplus, KT is also launching products to accelerate market expansion.
A variety of applications, including health, safety, and entertainment, are expanding partnerships with home appliance and construction companies.

Who will be the winner in the smart home market?

With KT following SK Telecom and LG Uplus in full swing into the IoT home market, the IoT home 'living room war' between the major domestic telecommunications companies is expected to intensify.

As smart home devices are expected to lead the IoT market, the share of smart home-related devices is expected to increase from 26.6% in 2015 to 34.4% in 2016 and 39.9% in 2017.

The domestic smart home market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 22.2% from 2014 to 2019, reaching KRW 23.4 trillion in 2019. Telecommunications companies, home appliance manufacturers, and IT platform companies are providing smart convergence appliances, smart healthcare, smart TVs, and home entertainment services.

In particular, the three domestic telecommunication companies are expanding their market based on their existing wired and wireless customers. In the report, “Future-oriented smart homes combining cutting-edge ICT technologies – Smart Homes,” Jaeheung Yoo, a senior researcher at the Software Policy Research Institute, pointed out that “the weakness of telecommunications companies is that they have lost the limitations of their wired business and the leadership in the mobile market to IT platform companies,” and that “IT platform companies such as Google and Apple have excellent SW and solution capabilities and are ahead of home appliance and telecommunications companies in the market, but they lack the know-how and capabilities specialized in the smart home field.”

KT enters the 'GiGA IoT Home' market, adding fun to health and safety.

As if conscious of this market situation, KT GiGA IoT Business Division Director Song Hee-kyung, who held a ‘KT GiGA IoT Home Briefing’ on the 3rd, emphasized, “Unlike our competitors, KT’s home IoT business is not well known, but we will provide fun and useful services to customers in the IoT market where there is no absolute leader.”


▲ On the 3rd, KT introduced the soon-to-be-released 'GiGA IoT Health Bike' at the 'KT GiGA IoT Home Briefing Session'.


At the briefing that day, KT announced its core value of providing new services to customers through 'Fun & Care'. This is a home IoT business strategy that allows people to enjoy health (Health Care), safety (Family Care), and convenience (House Care) through IoT at home.

KT plans to introduce a total of 30 types of home IoT services by the end of this year, and has also set specific goals of reaching 500,000 home IoT subscription devices within the year and becoming the undisputed number one in the entire IoT market by 2018.

Olleh TV boasts 6.63 million subscribers, offering a competitive edge through its big data and IoT platforms.

KT is banking on its unwavering leadership in the IPTV market, with 6.63 million subscribers to Olleh TV. Building on this leadership, KT's strategy is to offer a differentiated "Healthtainment" (Health + Entertainment) home IoT service. Executive Director Song stated, "With our confidence in industrial IoT and vehicle IoT, where we already have a larger network footprint than our competitors, we will also catch up in the nascent home IoT market."

At the event, KT introduced the 'GiGA IoT Health Band', which was released in early February, as well as the 'GiGA IoT Health Bike' and 'GiGA IoT Health Golf Putting' services, which are scheduled to be released soon. Moving beyond simply using exercise equipment at home, we added fun elements through exercise program videos and games provided by Olleh TV.


▲ In February, KT launched the 'GiGA IoT Health Band', which allows for 1:1 personal training with trainer Sean Lee.

The GiGA IoT Health Band was developed in collaboration with national health trainer Sean Lee. You can receive PT (Personal Training) by watching Sean Lee's videos on Olleh TV, and you can also check your exercise volume and personalized recommended diet information. The GiGA IoT Health Bike is linked to the Olleh TV Wiz game screen, and the strength of the bike pedals is adjusted in real time according to the road condition and slope while riding the bike, providing the user with an experience similar to exercising in an actual riding environment. The GiGA IoT Health Golf Putting is a service designed to enable putting practice in an environment similar to an actual golf course, allowing you to conveniently practice golf putting at home without having to go to the driving range or golf course.

KT is not only providing a service that connects various health devices, but is also expanding into personalized IoT health management services using big data. KT plans to analyze customer data by installing a solution capable of analyzing health-related big data on its IoT platform, 'IoTMakers', and then promote personalized health consulting through a separate application called 'GiGA IoT Health'.

To activate the ecosystem of the home IoT market, KT has completed integration with Samsung Electronics' IoT platform, ARTIK, and IoTMakers, and introduced OTTO, an intelligent home IoT hub, together with Samsung Electronics at MWC2016.

Prior to this, KT announced that it would partner with Samsung Electronics to offer "GiGA IoT Home," which integrates with Samsung Electronics' home appliances. The company previously launched the "olleh GiGA IoT Home Manager," which allows users to check the status of home appliances, such as digital door locks, and even control them remotely via a smartphone app.

LG U+ expands its intelligent IoT services, reaching over 200,000 households.

LG U+ is also joining hands with Samsung Electronics to introduce differentiated home appliances based on IoT.

LG U+ recently announced that it will launch a smart home refrigerator linked to the Silver Care IoT platform in collaboration with Samsung Electronics. The IoT platform-based Silver Care service is a function that determines that if the refrigerator door is not opened for more than 12 hours, it is an emergency situation and notifies registered users that there is no history of refrigerator use.

This company has linked its IoT@home app with Samsung Electronics' smart home app, allowing customers to check information such as refrigerator temperature, number of door openings per month/day, and refrigerator filter replacement cycle through their smartphones. The newly launched service is available on all refrigerators that support eight Samsung smart home features. Starting with the launch of refrigerators, LG U+ plans to sequentially launch home appliances equipped with IoT features, such as air conditioners, air purifiers, and robot vacuums, in collaboration with Samsung Electronics by the end of this month.


▲ LG U+ recently launched a smart home refrigerator linked to the Silver Care IoT platform in collaboration with Samsung Electronics.

LG U+ also partnered with ADT Caps and Gateman to launch a differentiated IoT-based home security service available for around 20,000 won per month. "IoT Caps," launched this time, was developed through a business partnership between the three companies since August of last year. It offers enhanced convenience and security features tailored to the residential market.

IoT Caps is based on Gateman's latest door lock, ADT Caps' security guard, and LG U+'s IoT devices and technology, and provides security features such as front door locking, intrusion detection, alarm notification, and security guard, as well as remote control via smartphone through IoT. When an external intrusion is detected through a window, the 'IoT opening detection sensor' can send an intrusion notification to the customer's smartphone, requesting the dispatch of ADT security personnel.

IoT appliances strengthen home security services.

LG U+ also offers a personalized skincare service that can be easily performed at home using IoT technology. In collaboration with Hanssem, a comprehensive home interior design company, LG U+ has launched the LTE Magic Mirror, which utilizes IoT technology to measure skin conditions.

The newly introduced LTE Magic Mirror allows customers to measure their skin type while looking in the mirror, and the results are displayed on the mirror. Based on the results, users can receive personalized skin care recommendations, including appropriate beauty products.

To use, customers sit on a vanity chair and touch the mirror. A special high-resolution camera embedded in the mirror captures their skin, and current skin information, including pores, redness, wrinkles, skin texture, and blemishes, appears on the mirror screen. The measurement results provide customers with information on their individual skin conditions and overall results. Content on personalized skincare and cosmetics is also provided in video and magazine formats.

LG Uplus stated, “We are leading the domestic home IoT market by exceeding 200,000 households with IoT services,” and “We plan to continue to lead the IoT field by strengthening cooperation with various industries and introducing intelligent IoT services in the future.”

SK Telecom has the largest smart home application lineup in Korea.

SK Telecom also set up a standalone corporate pavilion at MWC 2016 held last month and is actively exploring overseas markets for its next-generation platform business.

SK Telecom, which achieved significant success last year in the IoT sector, including the launch of its smart home platform and the establishment of a smart city testbed in Busan, introduced "Smart Home" as its flagship IoT solution. Having already connected 25 home appliances to its smart home platform, SK Telecom used its MWC exhibition to showcase devices optimized for Europe and North America, including wall pads, robot vacuums, humidifiers, and air purifiers, marking the company's move to export its smart home platform.


▲SK Telecom showcased a total of 13 items in 5 fields, including IoT Home, at the 'IoT International Exhibition' last year.

SK Telecom previously announced smart home partnerships with Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics at IFA 2015 in Berlin, Germany, in September of last year. Following this announcement, the company signed a business partnership with Commax, Korea's largest home IoT company, to integrate smart home services. The company anticipates that the synergy between SK Telecom's ICT competitiveness and Commax's global presence will serve as a crucial foundation for strengthening its global business.

SK Telecom's smart home service is creating a new win-win model by jointly promoting the sales and marketing of products from small and medium-sized enterprises. The company plans to launch more than 20 interconnected devices optimized for domestic living environments by the end of the year and more than 30 by the first half of this year.

Home IoT specialists are expanding their smart home market horizons through partnerships with construction companies and others.

In particular, SK Telecom is carrying out the 'Smart Home Certified Apartment' project, which provides integrated smart home services and linked devices from affiliated companies to domestic construction companies.

In February, SK Telecom signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Hyundai Motor Group's Hyundai Engineering & Construction to collaborate on smart home projects. Through this partnership, SK Telecom plans to provide Hillstate residents with an integrated smart home service that links its open smart home platform with Hyundai Engineering & Construction's home network system. To achieve this, SK Telecom plans to complete the development of a smart home service specifically for Hillstate within the first half of the year.

SK Telecom stated, “SK Telecom, which has the largest smart home application lineup in Korea, will expand to over 100 models by the end of the year through collaboration with over 50 partners,” and “We plan to continue expanding the smart home market in the future.”