Participation in the '2016 Global Mobile Broadband (MBB) Forum' held in Tokyo, Japan
Executive Director Ahn Seong-jun presents IoT leading businesses and announces NB-IoT commercialization to an audience of over 1,000

We aim for 1 million subscribers for Home IoT next year and plan to further accelerate our IoT business by establishing a nationwide NB-IoT (NarrowBand-Internet of Things) network by the end of next year.

Ahn Sung-joon, Executive Vice President of LG Uplus’ IoT Business Division, served as a keynote speaker at the ‘2016 Global Mobile Broadband (MBB) Forum’ held in Tokyo, Japan on the 24th. He presented ‘The IoT World LG Uplus Dreams Of’ and announced a future strategy to secure global competitiveness through the commercialization of LG Uplus’ NB-IoT.

The MBB Forum, held in Tokyo from the 24th to the 25th, is an event jointly organized by the Global Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) and Huawei. Approximately 1,000 people, including 200 CEOs from broadcasting and telecommunications companies such as SoftBank, NTT Docomo, China Mobile, Toshiba, and CNN, will attend to examine new technologies and related application industries.

Executive Director An Seong-jun introduced IoT services and case studies that have been actually applied in the home, industrial, and public sectors. It vividly portrays how life at home is changing with IoT, from the first home IoT service by a domestic telecommunications company and the largest in terms of subscriber size, to the home IoT integrated platform IoT@home application and vivid reviews from actual customers.

Executive Director Ahn explained, “As of November, the number of home IoT subscribers has surpassed 500,000 households, and we are aiming for 1 million subscribers next year. Through agreements with various industries and global companies, we will gain world-class competitiveness as an all-in-one home IoT service,” adding, “The home IoT business model is being strategically pursued by dividing it into a paid subscription model and a partnership model.”

In the paid subscription model, LG Uplus directly provides the devices, and a technician visits the home to handle activation, installation, and even repairs; customers only need to pay the monthly usage fee. The partnership model allows customers to use the integrated IoT@home app for free through platform integration with partner companies that possess their own platforms.

LG Uplus provides smart plant solutions in the industrial IoT sector that comprehensively address security, safety, and environmental issues in plants. Executive Vice President Ahn stated, “Industrial IoT services are actually being applied at LG Chem plants to protect worker safety, reduce costs, and increase industrial efficiency.”

LG Uplus introduced Goyang Smart City as a representative public IoT service currently being built. Goyang City installed geomagnetic sensors at road boundaries to solve illegal parking problems using IoT, and installed water quality management sensors and smart security lights in the park to ensure safe use of the lake park.

Introduction of the 2017 NB-IoT nationwide network rollout schedule and the goal of 1 million home IoT subscribers

In addition, it introduces a waste monitoring solution to monitor the load of trash cans in real time and provides an analysis solution that enables waste collection vehicles to move along optimal routes. The smart traffic solution detects parking and speeding violations to prevent accidents and also provides solutions for pedestrian safety.

Executive Director Ahn explained, “Smart city solutions resolve chronic urban problems such as traffic, the environment, and safety,” adding, “We plan to provide new value to consumers and suppliers by implementing existing gas, water, and electricity meter readings through smart metering in the public sector, and proceed with related businesses.”

During the presentation, Executive Vice President Ahn declared, “NB-IoT will become the standard for the global Internet of Things market based on its high stability,” adding, “LG Uplus plans to commercialize NB-IoT in the first quarter of next year to revitalize IoT business in the industrial and public sectors.”

Officials from global ICT companies expressed great interest following Executive Vice President Ahn Seong-jun's presentation, asking questions about the challenges for NB-IoT commercialization and plans for IoT business cooperation with LG Uplus. By requesting business meetings for the signing of MOUs and investments, they demonstrated the global competitiveness of LG Uplus's IoT business.