KT Launches Commercialization of Korean-Style Bike-Sharing Service
Published2018.04.04 14:14KT and ofo to Jointly Develop Network Infrastructure and NB-IoT-Based Smart Lock Devices
KT announced that it has signed a business agreement with ofo, Shinhan Card, and NHN KCP for "commercialization of Korean-style bike-sharing service."
Kim Jun-geun, head of KT's GiGA IoT Business Division, Yanqi Zhang (En-chi Zhang), co-founder and COO of ofo, Lee Chan-hong, head of Shinhan Card's Platform Business Group, and Park Jun-seok, CEO of NHN KCP, among other stakeholders attended the signing and agreed to collaborate on commercialization and market expansion of Korean-style bike-sharing services based on each company's ICT and financial capabilities.
ofo operates over 10 million shared bicycles in approximately 250 cities across 20 countries worldwide. Korea is ofo's 21st market, and the company is currently running a pilot project in Busan. Beginning with this partnership, ofo plans to accelerate its business operations in Korea. Recently, ofo has secured 866 million dollars in investment and is expanding its business.
Through the business agreement, KT and ofo agreed to cooperate on ▲utilization of KT's network and infrastructure for bike-sharing business, ▲joint development of NB-IoT-based smart lock devices, and ▲joint marketing to expand the market.
The two companies plan to cooperate on commercializing NB-IoT-based smart locks and installing smart lock devices manufactured by domestic IoT companies on shared bicycles. In particular, they will conduct joint marketing targeting local governments considering bike-sharing introduction but requiring budgets and operational expertise.
ofo Chief Operating Officer Yanqi Zhang stated, "Since launching a free pilot service in Busan, we have been receiving favorable feedback from users," and added, "We look forward to creating synergy for local community development through ofo's bike-sharing model."
Kim Jun-geun, head of KT's GiGA IoT Business Division, said, "This business agreement will not end with simply supplying IoT services and joint marketing," and added, "We will make stepwise efforts to combine KT's big data capabilities, such as floating population analysis, with ofo's bike-sharing service expertise to contribute to addressing environmental issues such as reducing fine dust."
Meanwhile, at the signing ceremony, ofo and Shinhan Card plan to link ofo's bike-sharing service within the 'Shinhan FAN' platform and conduct joint marketing. NHN KCP plans to provide general payment services including credit cards, account transfers, and mobile payment, as well as simple payment services such as PayCo.
Additionally, through IoT, real-time monitoring of bicycle conditions is possible, allowing management of only bicycles requiring repairs and redistribution, thereby improving efficiency. Since equipment capable of bicycle communication exists, when bicycle users leave their usage area, batteries are depleted, parked bicycles are moved without authorization, or unauthorized impacts occur, location and status information are transmitted to the control center, enabling operations managers to identify bicycles requiring maintenance.
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